Another War Begins
by sam81609
Summary: Set after book 12. A surprising twist on what happens after Phobos escapes his prison in Candracar. Last chapter is up!
1. Chapter 1

Another War Begins

Chapter 1-An Unexpected Surprise-Part 1

Wills POV

"I can't believe it's finally over", Will Vandom was saying one day during lunch.

"I can't believe Cornelia still won't talk to us", said Irma Lair. She was munching on a PB&J.

"Well you did say a lot of mean things to her Irma", Hay Lin pointed out carefully.

"She'd rather spend her time with a flower than with us!" said Irma agitatedly. "Don't give me that look", she snapped at Taranee Cook, "You know what I'm saying is true, that flower is all she cares about!"

"She loved Caleb", said Hay Lin softly. "I know that much. I don't blame her for being upset"

"Yea, but to barricade herself in her room, and refuse to talk to anybody?" said Irma. "That is just sad"

"Irma!" Will snapped. "Lay off Cornelia, all right?"

"No", said Irma simply. "If she cares more about a flower than she does us, what kind of friend is she?"

"Irma!" Hay Lin yelled, sounding and looking shocked.

"Don't give me that look, you know I'm right!" said Irma angrily.

"Guys!" cried Taranee. "Stop fighting! This is no time for fighting, okay?"

"All right", Irma and Will muttered at the same time. Both of them were already feeling bad about the fight.

Is this how it's always been? Will wondered. Have we always fought like this? Whatta you think Taranee?

She looked over at Taranee, who smiled slightly and shook her head.

Taranee had the power to read minds, and when Will wanted the answer to a question she didn't want to say out loud, all she had to do was think it. Taranee would answer it for her. So how _did _all this start? She thought. She caught Taranee shrug, saying that she had no clue. Will did though.

It started when she moved to Heatherfield. Started when she received the Heart of Candracar. Started when they became guardians. When they were given powers over water, fire, earth, and air. It had basically ruined their lives.

Cornelia wouldn't even talk to them. Even though she was safe, they would probably never see their friend Elyon (princess of Meridian) ever again, and now all they ever did was fight.

What a way to live, Will thought bitterly. She caught Taranee smile as she listened to that part.


	2. Chapter 2

Another War Begins

Chapter 2-A Strange Feeling

Elyons POV

All mine, Elyon thought disbelievingly. I rule Meridian. Unbelievable.

Of course, with everything that had happened in Elyons life, that was the most believable. Being taken by her evil brother, him wanting to use her powers to make himself stronger, ruling an entire kingdom was definitely the most believable. More believable than anything else anyway. To bad the kids from school can't see me now, she thought with a smile. At school, she had been friends with Cornelia from the in crowd. That was the only reason people had nitced her. She was in with the In Crowd. But here, everyone knew her. She was famous. She had brought light to Meridian. Turned it from being a barren, dark land, into into a pratical paradise. People were happy again. And she was happy to. Happy she could make a difference. Happy that others were happy.

But in the back of her mind, she had this strange feeling. Something was wrong. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something was definitley wrong. Little did she know, back on Earth, Will, the leader of the Guardians, and one of those who helped seal Phobos away, was getting that same feeling. And what she also didn'y know, was that by ignoring, she could be dooming herself, and all of Meridian.

**(muwahahahaaa! Cliffhangers! I luv them! Hahahahahahaaaa! Ur just gonna hav to wait to find out wat happens next! Hahahahaaa! And if u like this story, than start checkin out sum of my older ones, cuz I'm leavin in two days, and I'm not cumin bak till the first or second of august. Asta Lavista, for now!)**


	3. Chapter 3

Another War Begins

Chapter 3-An Unexpected Surprise-Part 2

Hay Lins POV

"Doing anything today?" Will asked her Hay Lin during lunch.

"Uh-uh", said Hay Lin, shaking her head. 'You?"

"Yea, fighting with my mom", said Will kiddingly.

"Yea, you guys have been fighting a lot lately", Hay Lin pointed out.

"Don't remind me", Will muttered bitterly. "Where's Irma and Taranee?"

"Lunch line", said Hay Lin, pointing them out.

"They'd actually risk food poisoning?" asked Will. "Brave girls" Hay Lin laughed. It was the normal, dumb conversation anyone would have been having. Nice to be normal, Hay Lin thought happily. And it was to. Even if she would miss the flying. And having power over air. And…all right, so maybe normal wasn't all that great. No powers, no flying…but she'd never be late for supper again.

"Hey guys", Hay Lin pulled out of her thoughts as Irma and Taranee sat down, the Goo of the Day was on their trays.

"Are you really gonna eat that?" Will asked uncertainly.

"I don't know", said Irma. "On one hand, I'm hungry. On the other hand, I'd like to live to see another day" Will and Hay Lin laughed. Taranee looked like she might be sick.

"Hey, you guys wanna come over my house today after school?" Will asked when she finally calmed down.

"Sure", said Hay Lin.

"Why not?" said Irma, shrugging. Taranee just nodded, and went back to eating the goo. Well, she was trying to anyway.

Wonder what's wrong with her? Hay Lin thought. She caught Taranee shake her head, saying that nothing was wrong, but Hay Lin knew better. Maybe she could find out later.

* * *

It was later that day. The girls were Wills room, talking about all kinds of things. They didn't stay on topic for long.

"Not being a guardian anymore really kiils conversation topics, doesn't it?" Taranee asked as they hit a conversation dead end.

"We're still guardians", said Will. "We're just, not needed anymore"

"Yea right", said Irma.

"Hey!"

Corenelia burst into the room, sending everyone off big time.

"Cornelia!' cried Will. "Ever heard of knocking?"

"I rang the doorbell", she said.

"The bell is broken", said Will.

"Of course, you'd know that if you ever talked to us anymore", said Irma said stiffly. She did_ not_ sound happy.

"Don't start", snapped Cornelia.

"What do you want Cornelia?" said Irma. "it's been weeks since the last time you _looked _at one of us. So get right to the point. Why are you here?"

"I can see you haven't changed", Cornelia shot back. "I just wanted to tell you, Elyon's back"

"What!" that caught everyones attention, and Irma said, "You're crazy! Why would Elyon come back here?"

"How should I know?" asked Cornelia. "I know what I saw, though. It was Elyon"

"You're loosing it", said Irma.

**(whats the bigger surprise? The fact the Cornelia saw Elyon, or the fact Cornelia talked to the guardians? I don't know to be honest)**


	4. Chapter 4

Another War Begins

**Disclaimer-**I don't own WITCH

Chapter 4-Something Weird Happens

Irmas POV

"Irma, you could have been a little nicer" Will pointed out carefully.

"Why?" asked Irma. "She wouldn't give us the time of day for weeks, and now she comes bouncing back, what am I supposed to do, give her a hug?"

"I didn't mean that it's just-" Will cut off her own sentence.

"Just what?" asked Irma. "Sorry Will, I missed that last part"

For a second, Will didn't answer, she looked like she was being distracted by something.

"Will?" asked Irma tentavely. "Is something wrong? Will?"

Suddenly, Will shook her head and came out of the trance. "Sorry. W-what did you say?"  
Irma continueed to look at her weirdly. Taranee and Hay Lin did to. "You okay Will?" asked Hay Lin.

"Course, why wouldn't I be?" she sounded like good old Will again.

"Well, you were acting kind of strange for a minute there", said Irma.

"It's just…nothing", said Will. "Forget about it"

"Well, okay", sid Irma doubtfully. Will had scared her there for a sec. She hoped Will would be all right.

The girls left Wills' about an hour later, discussing Wills weird behavior.

"I thought I was imagining things", said Taranee.

"I'm surprised you weren't in her head trying to find out what was going on", Irma joked.

"I tried", said Taranee. Irma stopped laughing.

"Whatta you mean, tried?" asked Hay Lin.

"Something was blocking me out", said Taranee. "That's never happened before. It was strange, like something was pushing me back, almost"

Irma found that kinda weird. Taranee'd had the power to read minds for awhile, and she had never described something like that happening. "Weird", Hay Lin muttered.

"You're telling me", said Taranee. "It gave me a headache"

"Ouch", Irma joked. Hay Lin laughed as they got to the corner. Taranee said goodbye to Irma and Hay Lin, and left for her house. Irma and Hay Lin had a few blocks to go before they had to say goodbye, so they kept talking.

The two finally got to Irmas' house. She said goodbye to Hay Lin and went inside.

"Irma? Is that you?" that was her dads way of greeting her as she walked inside.

"Who else would it be?" Irma yelled.

She made her way up to her room, and shut the door as soon as she got in.

"Irma!" of course, her door didn't stay shut for long.

"Chris!" cried Irma. "What have I told you about knocking?"

"Dad said you would take me to the park when you got home", said Chris.

"Well Dad lied", said Irma, laying back down on her bed. "Now get out!"

"I wanna goto the park!" cried Chris. "Dad said you would!'

"Ask Dad if he'll take you", said Irma. She wasn't in the mood to go anywhere with her little brother. What if someone saw her?

"Forget it", said Irma. "I am _not _taking you to the park"

"Fine!' said Chris. "Then I'll tell Mom and Dad about you breaking your curfew last week!"

Aaww nuts, thought Irma.

"All right", she said finally. "Lets go"

She dragged herself grudgingly off her bed, and followed her brother out the door.

Why am I here? Irma found herself thinking an hour later. Her brother was playing catch with one of his friends, and she was bored out of her mind.

I should have brought some homework, she thought. It'd be better than this.

Homewrok? What had her life come to? She actually missed being a guardian. At least it gave her something to do.

"Chris!" she yelled after about an hour. "It's time to go home!"

He said goodbye to his friend, and ran up to his sister. Then they both headed home.

**(All right, yea, it was a boring chapter, but hey, the more important things happened in the beginning. Just stay tuned for the next chapter)**


	5. Chapter 5

Another War Begins

**Disclaimer-I…I don't really need to do this anymore, do I? Oh all right, I don't own WITCH **

Chapter 5-A weird Dream

Wills POV

Will was lying in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. She's lied to her friends earlier, something she had gotten very good at while being a guardian. When she had been talking to Irma, it was like, all of a sudden her mind was pulled somewhere else, and she blanked out on her friends. When they asked her what was wrong, she had told them she was fine. What a lie. She was not fine. Whatever had happened to her, she didn't like it. Not one bit. Her thoughts eventually put her to sleep, and she had a very strange dream indeed.

She was at the Tower of Mist, where she and her friends had locked Phobos and his evil goon Cedric away. But something was wrong. The door was open, and Phobos was gone.

"Uh oh", Will muttered, looking around. He could have been anywhere. Including right behind her. As the thought occurred to her, she whirled around. No one was there. "Paranoid", she muttered. There was no one there, so why was she scared? "Because", she told herself. "If the door to the Tower of Mist is opened, that means Phobos and Cedric have escaped. They'll go after you and your friends and-" oh no. Her friends! They didn't know Phobos had escaped! She had to warn them.

"There's no point in trying to find your friends", said a voice behind her in a low hiss.

"Cedric", she knew before she turned around it was him.

"They're already dead", he hissed. Will went numb with shock. Dead? No, they couldn't be! Her friends couldn't be dead! No! Cedric laughed.

"Your all alone guardian", he said. "Now what will you do?"

She didn't answer. Couldn't. She could barely feel the ground beneath her feet. Not possible.

"Now it is your turn guardian", Cedric said. He laughed, whipped his tail at Will, and…

Will woke up. Just shot up like a bullet. Didn't yell, didn't scream, just woke up. She was shaking, and sweating. Her blankets were twisted, which said that she had been tossing and turning in her sleep. She fell back down on her pillows, not bothering to fix her blankets. She was tired. And she wanted to think about the dream. What did it mean? She and her friends had locked Phobos and Cedric up tight. Threw away the keys and everything. So why was she dreaming about him coming back? What did it mean?

**(Well? What do you think? Leave a comment and let me know)**


	6. Chapter 6

Another War Begins

Chapter 6-Cornelias Anger

**Disclaimer-**sighs boredly-as usual, I don't own WITCH

Cornelias POV

Cornelia was fuming as she walked through the door to her apartment. She was more mad at Irma than at anyone else. She just wanted to tell her so-called _friends _something, and when she tries to talk, Irma starts giving her lip! What was her problem anyway? What had Cornelia ever done to her?

But as Cornelia sat down huffily on her bed, she knew the answer. She hadn't talked to the guardians in weeks. She had given them the cold shoulder, and didn't talk to them at all. And Irma held grudges.

"Oh Caleb", she said sadly to the plant on her bedside table. "What am I going to do?"

Of course, he couldn't answer, but talking to the flower made her feel better. Kind of. She didn't want to be a guardian anymore, it had caused nothing but misery in her life. Not something she was fond of. But she had enjoyed being friends with the others. Oh boy, how had this started?

Will Vandom. The name hit her with a jolt. Will Vandom had moved to Heatherfield. Hay Lin had invited Will, Irma, Taranee, and Cornelia over to her house, and that was where they had learned about Meridian. About Phobos. About guardians. And about their powers. If it wasn't for Will, she thought furiously, this would have never happened.

**(All right, it was short, but get the heck over it! They get better as the story goes on) **


	7. Chapter 7

Another War Begins

Chapter 7-Taranee gets Suspicious

**Disclaimer-**As usual, I don't own WITCH

Taranees' POV

Taranee was in her room reading her favorite book, _Maple Street Blues_, for about the millionth time.

Is this what life without the duties of a guardian is always gonna be like? She found herself wondering. I can just hang out in my room, maybe go to my Dark Room, or do whatever I want. I don't have to worry about the world being in danger, don't have to listen to Will and Cornelia fighting all the time, just enjoy my life. I could get used to this.

But a nagging voice in the back of her head. A voice that was saying, "You know this isn't right. You're a guardian, you can't just give up the life you've gotten used to, you can't"

But she ignored it. She was living it up, and she loved every second of it. Why listen to a little voice in her head? There was absolutely no point to it

* * *

"What's wrong Will?" it was the next morning, Taranee ran into Will on her way to school (she'd been trying to, actually. Will and Taranee lived a few blocks from each other). One look at Will told her something was wrong.

"Huh, what?" Will looked around distractedly, like she had been deep in thought about something.

"Something wrong?" Taranee asked again. Will shook her head in a half-hearted sort of way. She looked exhausted. Taranee calked her head in a thoughtful sort of way. Will caught the look on her friends face and said, "I'm fine all right Taranee? Just kinda tired. Now come on, we're gonna be late", and she took off, leaving a very confused Taranee behind.

* * *

"She was acting strange", Taranee was whispering to Irma and Hay Lin during class that day, telling them about Wills weird behavior.

"She's always strange", Irma pointed out. "Ever since the day I met her, she's been weird"

"All right, weirder than usual", said Taranee impatiently.

"Maybe you were just imagining it", said Hay Lin.

"Uh uh", said Taranee stubbornly.

"Oh boy", Irma muttered. "She is never gonna give up now that she has an idea in her head"

"Yea", Hay Lin agreed right as the bell rang.

"I think you're imagining it", Hay Lin repeated as they walked out of class. It was last class of the day, and of the week.

"Weekend", said Irma, pronouncing each syllable carefully. "Whoever came up with this idea is a god"

Hay Lin laughed at Irmas' good mood. Of course, she was right. The weekend was a great thing. School was nice, but two days off was even better. _Especially without the duties of a guardian, _Taranee thought with a smile. _I really could get used to not dealing with the guardian thing._

"What are you so happy about?" Hay Lin asked, catching the happy look on Taranees' face. They had walked out of school, and were halfway home. And Taranee hadn't noticed a thing.

"Oh nothing", she said breezily. "Just planning my weekend-"

"With out the guardians", Irma finished for her.

"Think about it guys", said Taranee as they turned another corner. "Never gotta worry about evil, or getting hurt, or closing portals, or breaking curfew-"

"But we do have to worry about breathing Taranee", Irma said, covering Taranees mouth with a laugh. "So breathe"

"You know what I mean", said Taranee, pulling Irmas' hand off her mouth.

"I'm gonna miss being a guardian", said Hay Lin sadly. "I love flying. Taranee, isn't this your turn off?"  
"Huh?" Taranee looked around. "Oh yea, it is. Well, see you later then"

"Bye", the girls split off in their own direction, heading for home.

**(Don't worry, it gets more exciting. So just hang tight, and the next chap will be along soon enough)**


	8. Chapter 8

Another War Begins

**Disclaimer-**I don own WITCH, and this is getting ridiculous!

Chapter 8-Just Another Dream

Wills' POV 

It was happening again. She was walking through Candracar. Everything was black and burned.

"Oh no", she whispered as she walked. "No no no no…"

"Yes Guardian of the Veil", hissed a voice behind her. She turned around to find Cedric standing there.

"You!" she cried. "We locked you away for good, I know we did!"

Cedric laughed. "You can't always believe your eyes guardian", he jeered. "Phobos will rule all, and you will be the first to go"

Will stepped backwards, trying to decide whether or not to run. She wasn't even sure of how far away she would get before Cedric caught her. Odds were not likely to be very far.

"Don't even think of running Guardian", hissed Cedric. "For there is no where for you to go"

He moved forward, preparing to attack, and Will froze on the spot. She couldn't even bring herself to summon the Heart. And then…

She felt something scurry across her face, and bolted up, looking for the source. She was back in her room, and out of that horrible dream. Of course, she had no clue _what _had woken her up.

"Aha!" she cried, jumping out of bed, and grabbing her dormouse, which was attempting to crawl under her bed

"Go under there, and you'll get lost", she informed him. "You must be what woke me up"

The little dormouse growled at her, and she finally put it back on her bed, remembering the day she had gotten the furry little creature.

Uriah and his merry gang of thugs had been attempting to capture it, hoping they could stick it in geeky Martin Tubs locker. Will knew that a dormouse caught anywhere was an unhappy dormouse, and she stopped Uriah from capturing the little thing. She got a little help from Matt Olsen, who gave her a few tips on taking care of it. He also gave her his phone number, incase she had any questions. _Dormouse _questions of course. Nothing like the questions Will would…

_Okay, snap out of it Will_, she thought with a smile. _You're still tryin to save the_ _world from evil; there'll be time to daydream about Matt later._

She shook her head with a smile, putting the dream in the back of her head.

----

They were at school later that day. Will was listening to her math teacher go on and on (and on and on and on) about X equaling Y if divided by pie (A/N don't know if I spelled that right, don't care either, I hate math) and slipping in and out of sleep, not really wanting to risk detention. But she really didn't get anything the teacher was saying…

She shook her head to try and clear to the fog that was surrounding her brain, and looked around at Cornelia, who was busy scribbling down notes.

_I don't know how she does it, _Will thought, still barely staying awake. _This teacher could put anyone to sleep! Of course, we'd still have Mrs. Rudolph if it wasn't for Irma and Hay Lin…_

She smiled at that memory. Irma had suspected Mrs. Rudolph of being a monster from Meridian, so she talked Hay Lin into skipping school and searching Mrs. Rudolphs house for evidence…well, that's another story (A/N-I'm sure most of you have read Finding Meridian, and if you haven't, then ask someone who has!)

She looked at the blackboard, not taking in anything it said, and her mind drifted to a tad then less happy memory.

What had Cedric meant? "You can't always believe your eyes guardian". What was that supposed to mean? It didn't make any sense…

"Will Vandom!"

Uh oh. Will looked around, and saw the teacher standing right over her, glaring down on her.

_Oh boy, _Will thought. She hadn't paid any attention to what the teacher had been saying, and now she was paying for it. To her great relief though, the bell rang, and she made for the door before the teacher could say anything.

"Smooth move Will", said Cornelia, snickering as she caught up to her Will.

"Okay, so I wasn't paying attention", said Will snippishly. "You didn't have anything to do with that bell, now did you?"

"Do you not trust me?" she said innocently.

"No", said Will simply.

"All right then", said Cornelia. "I had absolutely, positively nothing to do with that bell ringing. Pure luck on your part"

Will hesitated for a minute, but let it go. She knew Cornelia wouldn't keep the same charade up for so long.

"So?" she asked Cornelia as the girls made for their lockers.

"So what?" Cornelia asked.

"Please Cornelia!" said Will, turning to face the former guardian. "You haven't talked to us since our last trip to Meridian, and now all of a sudden you're buddy buddy with me again! Who do you think you're fooling?"

"What, did you and Irma switch places?" Cornelia asked, her face turning red. "I'm trying to make peace with you, and you're mouthing off and giving me attitude! Excuse me for living, I forgot, you quit the guardians, you can't talk to the upper people of the guardian society, well _excuse me_!"

She turned around and stormed away from Will, leaving her to feel very bad about what she had said.


	9. Chapter 9

Another War Begins 

**Disclaimer-**oh brother, I don't own WITCH

Chapter 9-Irma, Hay Lin, and Taranees Plan

Taranees' POV

"Yea!" Irma yelled, sounding very happy indeed. "Go Will!"

Will was telling the girls about what had happened during school with Cornelia, and Irma was getting a kick out of it.

"Irma!" said Taranee, kind of mad about her reaction to what had happened.

"What?" asked Irma, looking around. "Please, it's about time _someone _actually stood up to her. She's been treating us like dirt, someone had to say something"

"I don't completely agree with what you said", said Hay Lin thoughtfully. "But Irma's right, someone does have to stand up to her"

"Hay Lin agrees with me", Irma informed Taranee.

"Well I don't", said Taranee stubbornly. "We want Cornelia to stop hating us, not make her hate us even more"

"I guess", said Will thoughtfully. "I was a little mean to her. Maybe I can try talking to her once she's cooled off…"

"I say forget about her", said Irma stubbornly. "She hates us. No need to try and mess with that. Forget it, that's my opinion"

"We know your opinion", said Will. "But…"

"But what?" asked Irma. She stopped. Will had gone kind of rigid. Taranee and Irma looked at each other and shrugged.

"Will?" Hay Lin asked tentively. Will shook her head and looked around.

"Sorry", she said breezily. "What'd you say?"

"Will…", said Taranee.

"What?" she asked.

"Well it's just…" Taranees' voice drifted off, and she looked to Irma to finish the sentence.

"That's the second time that's happened", said Irma, taking over. Will shrugged and just said, "So what? Like you've never drifted off before"

"During class maybe", said Taranee. "Not while we're talking to our friends"

"Hey, no big right?" she asked. "Come on, get over it, it's no big deal"

Taranee hesitated, but caught Hay Lin shaking her head, telling her to just drop it for now.

"Why didn't you let me say something?" Taranee asked Hay Lin an hour later as they left Wills'. "You know she is hiding something from us, why couldn't I ask?"

"Because we were never gonna find out like that", said Hay Lin simply. "Will is _way _too stubborn that way. If we're gonna find out, we have to do it the right way"

"You gotta plan?" Taranee asked.

"Oh yea", said Hay Lin mysteriously. "Listen up…"

**(Not my longest chapter, not my shortest, its _just_ right. Okay, this isn't the Three Bears, so lets' move on. I'll update soon, but I can't make any promises about that, I'm getting ready for school just like most of you are, so I can't guarantee updates)**


	10. Chapter 10

Another War Begins

**Disclaimer-**I don't own WITCH

Chapter 10-Phobos' Return Part 1

Wills' POV

Will was staring blankly at the ceiling, deep in thought. She had lied to her friends again. She had completely spaced on them, than lied to them about it after words. The truth was, she had no clue exactly what happened when she spaced. All she knew was that one second she would be talking to her friends, and the next second, she would flash out, and when she came back, her friends would be looking at her with concern in their eyes. It was weird, and she had no clue what it meant. It was confusing, and it gave Will a headache.

* * *

It was the next day. Will kinda wandered to school, still deep in thought. She'd been able to avoid any kind of dreams about Phobos coming back, but she was still thinking about it.

"Hi Will", said a chirpy sounding voice behind her. She turned around and saw Irma standing there smiling.

"Hi", she muttered. She turned away from her friend, not really in the mood to talk.

"Whatsup?" Irma asked in that same annoyingly chirpy voice.

"Why do you sound like you're running on a nine _thousand volt_ battery?" Will asked Irma in an irritated voice.

"Didn't convince you either huh?" Irma said smiling. "All right, the thing is, Hay Lin, Taranee, and I thought maybe something was bothering you, and we knew you wouldn't tell us, so we figured if we acted, you know, casual about it, we might, well, coax it out of you"

"Nothing's bothering me"', she told Irma. "You don't have to…worry-"

Her voice drifted, and Irma gave her a strange look. "You okay?"  
"Yea", said Will, shaking her head a little. "Just…tired. Didn't sleep good last night"

"Oh", said Irma. The two girls walked to Wills locker in silence, and it was only when they got to Wills locker did Irma say, "Do you know if any portals have popped up anywhere lately?"

It was a lame question that Irma was just asking to try and make conversation. "No", said Will. "Can't say I'm complaining either, those portals were a real pain"

"Yea", said Irma with a smile. Any time a portal appeared close to Will, she would get this real dizzy feeling and collapse. Not much fun for her.

"So…", said Irma. "You wanna come over today?"

"Sure, I guess", she said in a doubtful voice.

"Great", Irma said, but before she could say anything more, the bell rang, signaling for them to go to class.

* * *

Will was in a stupor for most of the day. Once the last bell rang, she made for her locker. She was going to meet Irma in the front, and they were gonna head over to her house. As Will approached her locker, she saw Cornelia at hers, and took it as an opportunity. She had wanted to talk to Cornelia all day.

"Hey Cornelia?" she said as she approached the former guardian, "Can we talk?"

"Nothing to talk about", said Cornelia shortly.

"Fine, than will you listen?" Cornelia didn't say anything, so Will decided to just keep talking.

"I just wanted to say, I'm sorry for snapping at you yesterday", Will knew she had Cornelias' attention, and kept talking. "I just- I dunno, I've had a lot on my mind lately, and I guess I took it out on you. Or I could just be hanging around Irma to much, who knows?"

That last part was meant as a joke, and when Cornelia turned to face her, Will saw that she was smiling.

"Apology accepted Will", she said, "And I guess…I'm sorry. Irma was right, as much as it kills me to admit it. I've been selfish, and I know it, but after what happened to Caleb…"

"No one blames you", said Will. "Well, Irma does, but hey, can't please everyone right?"

Cornelia laughed at Wills' weak attempt at a joke, and the two left school together.

"Hey Will!" Will heard her name almost as soon as she and Cornelia walked out of the school building. She looked around and saw Irma running toward her, stopping dead as soon as she saw Cornelia.

"Whatta you want?" she asked Cornelia snippishly. Evidently there were still some hard feelings there.

"Excuse_ me_", said Cornelia sarcastically. "I didn't realize it was against the law to walk with someone who happens to be _your_ friend"

"Hey!" said Will quickly, before Irma could retort. "Come on, don't fight. Irma, leave Cornelia alone, all right? Cornelia-"

But before Will could say anything they hear someone yell, "Hey guys!", and saw Taranee and Hay Lin approaching them.

"I gotta go", said Cornelia, and before anyone could stop her, she ran away.

As soon as she was gone, Will rounded on Irma and said, "What did you go and say that for huh?"

What?" said Irma furiously. "She hasn't talked to us in how long? What did you say to her anyway?"

"I told her I was sorry for snapping at her yesterday", said Will heatedly. "And she apologized to, why can't you just let it go?"

"After the way she's treated us?" Irma fumed. "Why should I?"

"She's our friend!" said Will furiously. "How can you forget about that?"  
"Some friend!" Irma cried. "She turns her back on us, slams doors in our faces, and blows us off whenever we try and talk to her. Why should I forgive her?"

"Maybe if we all just talked to her, we could try and understand each other", Taranee suggested.

"Forget it", said Irma flatly. She turned around and walked away.

"Irma wait!" the three girls ran after their retreating friend, who walked surprisingly fast. She was half way down the street from the school by the time they caught up to her, and they could see Cornelia walking slowly down the street ahead of them.

"Cornelia!" Will cried, running after her. Hay Lin and Taranee stayed back with Irma, and attempted to talk to her.

"Cornelia wait!" Will caught up to her and doubled over, gasping for breathe.

"What?" Cornelia snapped, obviously still heated from the fight.

"Look, can't we just talk?" Will asked desperately. "Please?"

Cornelia glared at Will for a sec, but finally just said, "Okay"

* * *

All five girls were at Wills' place. Will, Taranee, and Hay Lin had all been trying to get Cornelia and Irma to talk, and it wasn't exactly working.

"Please!" Will begged. "Just talk to each other. Two words maybe, one even!"

Neither of them cracked though. They both refused to look at each other, and Will was ready to give up.

"Please just talk to each other", said Hay Lin in a last ditch effort.

"No!" Irma and Cornelia snapped at the same time.

Will sighed and said, "Well that's that. I guess they're never gonna talk to each other, we might as well just-"

She cut off her own sentence as a glaring pain shot thru her head. She yelled, collapsed, and remembered no more.

**(A/N-aaahhhh, cliff hangers, don't u just luv them? Probably not, but if uve read my fics b4, u no that cliffhangers r my way of life, so liv on, and wait 4 the next chap!)**


	11. Chapter 11

Another War Begins

**Disclaimer**-I don't own WITCH

Chapter 11-Phobos' Return Part 2

Elyons' POV

"Princess Elyon?" Elyon heard the voice far above her, but wasn't sure what to make of it. "Princess Elyon, please, wake up. Princess Elyon-"

"You don't have to keep calling me 'princess' you know", Elyon muttered as she opened her eyes. She was on the floor of her bedroom, though how she got there, she had no clue.

"Princess!" it was Vathek who had been trying to rouse her, and he was now relieved to find her awakened.

"What happened?" she asked Vathek as she sat up. Her head was spinning, and she still felt groggy.

"I am not sure my princess", he said uncertainly. "I heard you scream, and when I came up hear, you were unconscious"

As Vathek spoke, it all started coming back to Elyon. She had been in her room, preparing to go downstairs to the throne room (A/N-that was the best name I could think of), when she had felt a searing pain go through her head. The next thing she knew, Vathek was saying her name and she was waking up.

"Have you any idea what happened, my princess?" Vathek asked.

"Yes", said Elyon, standing up. The fact that she knew what had happened gave her no pleasure at all. "Phobos is back"

Wills' POV

"Will, Will? Will, can you hear me?" Will could hear, from far above it seemed to her, Hay Lin saying her name. She felt like she could barely move. Every part of her body was completely stiff. And her head was spinning. All and all, she was a wreck.

"Will?" Will heard her name again, and stirred slightly, opening her eyes.

Her vision was blurry, but she could kind of make out Irma, Taranee, Cornelia, and Hay Lin above her, all looked scared.

"I think she's okay!" said Cornelia. "Are you okay?" she asked Will.

"Uuuunnnhhh, yea", Will groaned and sat up, her head still hurt like crazy.

"What happened?" Hay Lin asked.

"I don't really wanna talk about it", said Will, shaking. "I really don't even wanna think about it"

"Why?" asked Taranee asked.

"I-I think…Phobos is back"

Elyons' POV

"But my princess", said Vathek as Elyon prepared to leave, "How will you cross the veil?"

"I just need to find a portal", said Elyon. "Perhaps one of the passlings can-"

"Princess", said Vathek uncertainly. "What are your reasons for going to the other side?"

"I told you Vathek; I need to know whether or not I'm right about Phobos", said Elyon as she turned to leave, "And the only other person I know that I can ask is the leader of the guardians; Will is the only person who will be able to tell me whether or not I am right. Vathek, I'm leaving you in charge while I am gone. Take good care of the castle, and I hope to be back before sunset. Take care Vathek"

"And you, my princess", said Vathek bowing, "Good luck on your quest"

* * *

Elyon was walking thru Meridian, feeling quite alone without a million guards around her for protection. But this was a journey she had to make on her own. She looked down at herself, and felt rather weird. She had changed into her Earth clothing before leaving the castle, knowing she would be looked at weird if she went to Earth in her Meridian clothing. Better to look casual and blend in then to attract attention. As she walked over the hill top, she saw what she seeked; a portal to Earth.

Irmas' POV

"Will, are you sure about this?" Irma asked for the millionth time. "You have been kind of off lately, maybe-"

"Guys, I know what I'm talking about", said Will stubbornly. "I'm not slipping, and I'm not loosing it. No matter how much we don't like it, we're back in the guardian business, like it or not"

The girls were silent for a minute, but Cornelia broke the silence by saying, "Well, you guys have fun with that, and I'll see you around", but as she stood up to leave, Irma grabbed her saying, "Where do you think you're going?"

"Out of here before you guys drag me back into this guardian thing", said Cornelia, trying to pull her arm out of Irmas' grip.

"Face it Cornelia", said Irma angrily. "You're a guardian all the way, get over it"

"I don't have to", said Cornelia, pulling her arm out of Irmas' grip. "I quit the guardians, I meant what I said before, I'm out, you guys are on your own"

That's it!" Irma jumped and faced Cornelia. "Cornelia I don't ever remember you being so selfish! The entire universe is in danger, and all you can think about is yourself! I can't believe I actually know you, right now, I'm ashamed to admit you _are_ a guardian!"

For a minute Cornelia actually looked hurt, but she recovered and said, "I never asked to be a guardian! I never wanted this responsibility. As far as I'm concerned, this whole universe is out to get me, and it's working to!"

"That's right Cornelia, it's all about you, isn't it?" Irmas' face was red, and she looked angrier than anyone had ever seen her before. "The rest of the world can drop dead, as long as you, Cornelia are happy, is that it?"

"I didn't say that!" Cornelia yelled. "You don't know what you're talking about, so keep out of things that don't concern you!"

"Up until just now, I thought maybe there was a chance we could try and be friends again", said Irma furiously. "I can't believe I ever thought that. EVER!"

She practically screamed that last word, and sent everyone flying. Cornelia was the only one who didn't jump, but continued to stare Irma down. Irma was breathing hard like she had been running, but she continued to glare at Cornelia.

"Listen, Irma, Cornelia" Hay Lin stood up and walked over to the girls, who both looked like they would like to strangle each other. Taranee was looking back and forth between Cornelia and Irma, but looked like she might never speak again. Will looked so distant, the girls doubted she had heard any of what had just happened.

"You guys", Hay Lin said again. "We can't keep fighting like this. It's…well, if Will is right, and Phobos is back, than we should be focusing on a way to get him back in the Tower of Mist, we can't waste our time fighting, we can't waste our strength like this, it'll just divide us, remember-"

Suddenly, Wills' head snapped around, and she cried, "Elyon!"

Sure enough, as the other girls turned to face the same direction, it was indeed…Elyon.


	12. Chapter 12

Another War Begins

Chapter 12-An Unexpected Return

Wills' POV

"Elyon!" Will was more than a little surprised to see her friend that she thought she would never see again. Before she knew what she was doing, Will had jumped off the ground and was hugging Elyon.

"Will!" yelled Elyon. "Hey, I'm glad to see you to but…"

"Sorry", said Will, pulling away from Elyon, "it's just…I was hoping maybe you could help me out with…with…" her voice drifted off.

"You to huh?" Elyon whispered quietly.

Will looked at Elyon, her eyes were filled with tears. "So, it wasn't just something that happened?"

"No", said Elyon quietly. "He's back Will"

For a second Will thought maybe she had fallen asleep again, but a second later, Taranee said, "What makes you think you fell asleep?"

Will jumped a mile, and said. "Oh yea, mind reader. Well, it started a few days ago. I started having these dreams about-about Phobos…" , her voice cracked and faltered, but the girls put the rest of the pieces together.

"Dreams of him coming back?" Cornelia said quietly. Will nodded, her eyes were filled with tears.

"When we were talking the other day", Hay Lin said slowly. "You spacing out on us…"

"I don't know", said Will miserably. "I'm not actually sure what that was all about. All I know is one second, I'll be talking to you guys, then the next second, there's this flash, and then I'm back with you guys…"

Will sat down hard and buried her face in her knees and burst into tears. The stress of being a guardian had finally caught up to her, and everything was just hitting all at once. Hay Lin kneeled down beside her friend and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. But Will didn't want comfort. She wanted someone to make this all just go away. Wanted someone to just make it all stop…

"Lets' go inside", said Irma. They had gone out in front of Wills' apartment building after she collapsed, hoping maybe for her to get some fresh air and clear her head. But now they all just stood up miserably and traipsed back inside.

* * *

Once inside, no one could stop Will from collapsing on her bed and burying her face in her hands. And no one wanted to either. Will had just gone through a lot, and she deserved sometime to take it all in. They all just sat quietly for awhile, but Irma finally decided to ask Elyon what she had been dying to ask her for awhile.

"So is this the only reason you came back?" she asked Elyon, not really caring what anyone thought about it.

"Irma-" Cornelia said threateningly, but Elyon cut her off.

"Yes", she said simply. "I just wanted to know if, you know…", she looked hopelessly at Will, who was still crying. Irma, still red faced from the fight with Cornelia, said, "So basically, you just came back to make our lives miserable, and now you're gonna go back to Meridian, am I right?"

"Irma!" Cornelia yelled. Elyon looked hurt by what Irma had said, and Cornelia looked like she'd had enough.

"Irma I am so sick an tired of you-", Cornelia started to say, but she was cutoff. Not by Irma, to everyones' surprise though.

"Don't", said Will, looking up at Cornelia and Irma. "Don' t fight. Things are bad enough without everyone fighting"

Irma and Cornelia looked at each other, and Will could tell they already felt bad about the fight, so she just decided to let the whole thing go.

"Now that that's settled", said Taranee. "Maybe we can get on to more important matters?"

"What?" said Irma, who was already starting to look like her usual joking self again. "You mean like the fact that our worst enemy is back and already looking to destroy us? Or the fact that now we're never gonna make it back in time for curfew, and the excuse, I was fighting evil demons and stopping them from taking over the world, is so overly used no ones gonna believe it?"

It wasn't one of her better jokes, but it still got a smile from everyone, even Will. Her smile was short lived though. Hay Lin looked sadly at her friend and said, "Hey Will? You okay?"

"I'll be fine", she muttered. Her eyes were red from crying, and she looked utterly miserable.

_Some leader, _she thought bitterly. _I'm completely falling apart. This really stinks._

"Cheer up Will", said Taranee. "It'll get better, I'm sure"

Will didn't even bother to tell Taranee to get out of her head. She was to miserable.

"I just wish I was as sure as you are Taranee", she said miserably.

* * *

It was later that night. Will was laying on her bed, thinking. The others had gone home, and Elyon had returned to Meridian. Wills' mom was in the kitchen cooking, but Will wasn't hungry. She wanted answers, like an answer to how Phobos had escaped. He was locked away, and the Tower of Mist was impenetrable, so how, how, _how _had Phobos and Cedric broken out? And what…Wills eyes grew wide, and she bolted up straight. What about Candracar? Had it been destroyed? And if it had, what were the guardians going to do? 


	13. Chapter 13

Alritey, I decided to update early, just cuz i was bord and felt like it, so, here's chapter 13!(if u dont like wat u read, no flames pleez)

**Disclaimer-**Yawn. as we all know, i own nothing, including WITCH (how very sad), so pleez, dont ask.

* * *

Chapter 13-The Accident 

Wills POV

Will didn't sleep good that night. All she could think about was Phobos, and everything that had happened. She was distant with her mom during dinner, and when her mom _tried _to talk to her she,Will snapped at her, and went to her room. All and all, it wasn't the greatest night ever

* * *

She did her best to talk things out with her mom the next morning, but it didn't go to well. 

"Um, morning Mom", Will said uneasily as she walked into the kitchen.

"Good morning Will", her mom said stiffily, wothout turning away from the stove to look at Will.

"Still mad about last night?" Will guessed sheepishly.

"You _are _smart", her mom said sarcastically.

"Can't you just give me a chance to explain?" Will asked desperately.

"No", her mom said simply, "You always try to explain your attitude, and then, two days later, we fight again! You're not getting any more chances"

Mom-" Will started to say.

"What Will?" her mom said, whirling sround, "You gonna give me some excuse about your _hard _life, just so I'll feel sorry for you?"

"Forget it", Will snapped, "I'm going out"

"Oh sure!" her mom said as Will walked toward the door, "Sure, go out with your friemds! Why don't you just live with them?"

"Good _bye_!" Will snapped before slamming the front door shut and storming for the elevator.

Hay Lins' POV

"What's wrong Will?" Hay Lin asked as her friend approached her, Irma, and Taranee.

"My mother that's what!" Will fumed, "She's giving me grief about last night-"

"What happened last night?" Taranee asked.

"Well, I guess I was kind of distant with her, but I had a lot on mind, and when she tried to talk to me, I got kind of snappy with her", Will explained, "And when I tried to talk to her this morning, she gave me the cold shoulder. I ended walking out mad at her"

"Why have you two been fighting so much?" Irma asked.

"I dunno", Will shook her head and changed the subject, "So, I take it no one had any luck talking to Cornelia?"

"Yea right!" Irma cried, "She is _way _to stubborn to listen to us. I dunno _what _we're gonna do"

----

* * *

"I warn you", Will said a few hours later as they approached her aprtment, "Expect it to be _very _cold" 

But the girls got a surprise as they walked in. No one was home.

"That's weird", Will muttered, "It's Saturday, she doesn't usually work Saturdays, so where-?"

Her question was cut off by the phone ringing.

"Vandom residence", she said, grabbing the phone. She listened for a second, than turned dead white and nearly dropped the phone.

"Will?" Irma asked in alarm, "You okay? Is there a portal near by?"

Will shook her head, and Irma grabbed the phone, "Hello?"

Hay Lin treid to bring Will out of whatever world she had fallen into, and Irma listened to whoever was on the other line. She nodded a few times, and then said, "Thank you", before hanging up.

"Well?" Hay Lin asked.

Irma looked at Taranee and Hay Lin, a grim look on her face, "Wills mom was in a car accident"


	14. Chapter 14

Another War Begins

**Disclaimer-**I don't own WITCH.

A/N-If I haven't said it before, I will now: this is half from the books, half from the TV show. In other words, I took little tid bits from both, and threw them together

**Scottgrubb:**just to let you know, i was not taking a page out of WITCHlover's book. I have nothing against her writing (you know, besides the fact her story is twisted) but they are two totally different stories. (and besides, she tortured Will throught the atory, im only gonna do for 1 1/2 chapters) Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 14-More Strange Events 

Irmas' POV

"W-What?" Taranee stammered.

"A car accident?" Hay Lin repeated, "No way, how-"

"Dunno", Irma said, "They didn't say-"

"Will?" Taranee said uncertainly, "You okay?"

Will wasn't looking at her friends. She had turned away from them, and was looking out the window. Irma could see Wills' reflection in the window, and noticed that her eyes were oddly blank. Taranee went over and laid a hand on Wills shoulder, who took know acknowledgement of it.

"Will?" Irma said quietly, "You in there? Will?"  
"I think we lost her", Hay Lin said, waving a hand in front of Wills' face, "Come on, don't do this to us Will. Say something"  
"She's still breathing", Taranee said, "That's good, at least"

"Here's something else", Hay Lin said, looking at a near-by clock, "It's almost supper time, what're we gonna do?"  
"Someone should stay with Will", Irma said, "She shouldn't stay alone. Hey, I know!"

Irma closed her eyes and concentrated. She saw her astral drop splitting from her, and when she finally opened her eyes, she saw her double standing in front of her, smirking in an Irma like way.

"The astral drop can go home, and I'll stay with Will", Irma said.

"Are you sure you two'll be okay by yourselves?" Hay Lin asked. Irma nodded, and the others (including Irmas' Astral drop) left.

"Okay", Irma said, turning to Will, "Now what shall we do with you?"

Will didn't answer, but continued to look out the window. Irma sighed. _Okay, _Irma thought, _Might as well try and make Will feel a little more comfortable. _She grabbed Will by the shoulders and steered her towards her room. Even if Will wasn't listening to anything Irma said, she didn't resist as Irma moved her toward her room. Irma finally got Will sitting on her bed, that same blank look in her eyes.

"Come on Will", Irma said desperately, "I know you're upset, and I understand that. But we need you! I'm sure your mom'll be okay, you're just having a hard time right now, we all are. You can't do this to us, not now, not when we need you most. Please Will, please don't do this to us"

Still no response from Will. Irma shook her head sadly. It was no use.

* * *

Irma spent Sunday and Monday at Wills' place, trying as hard as she could to talk to Will. Irmas' astral drop, meanwhile, was living Irmas' life, and pretty good, according to Hay Lin, who was careful to keep an eye on the AD (A/N-I'm lazy, AD means astral drop, I don't feel like typing it out).

* * *

"It's like she's not even here", Irma said on Monday. Her astral drop had gone to school for her. She had also ended up making Will an AD and sending it to school in Wills' place. She'd spent most of the day trying to bring Will out of her trance. No luck. 

"Poor Will", Hay Lin said, "This is hard on her"  
"We shouldn't leave her alone", Irma said, "She's in her room now, but still-"

"You stayed here for two days Irma", Hay Lin said, "I'll stay here for tonight"

Irma didn't object, just said, "Your choice, but I'm warning you: Will isn't much company"

Hay Lins POV

Hay Lin watched the others leave (including her own AD) and heaved a sigh. It wasn't that she minded staying with Will. It was the fact that one of her friends was suffering, and there was Hay Lin could do about it.

* * *

Hay Lin spent most of the night trying to help Will. Needless to say, it didn't work. 

It was noon the next day. Hay Lin was in the kitchen making a sandwich for lunch. Suddenly, she found herself looking out the window. Looking at Heatherfield. And then an idea hit her. She whirled around an made for Wills' room.

She opened the door and saw just what she ha seen last night: Will sitting on the edge of her bed.

"Will?" she said quietly. Will didn't do or say anything, but Hay Lin continued with her plan anyway.

"Will, I wanna show you something", Hay Lin said. Somehow, she managed to get Will on her feet and over to her bedroom window.

"See that Will?" she said, pointing out the window, "That's Heatherfield. You know, our home. But if Phobos has his way, it won't be _our _anymore. That's why we need you Will. I hate to see you like this, I feel so helpless. Please Will, we need you, not_ just _as a leader, but as a friend"  
Hay Lin watched Will for a moment, then sighed. She jumped in surprise though, as she watched Wills' face change. She blinked as though she were surprised by something, then uttered a soft groan and started to fall.

"Will!" Hay Lin grabbed her friend and helped her back over to the bed, "Are you okay Will?"

Will nodded blearily and dropped her head in her hands with a sigh.

"Oh Will", Hay Lin sighed, "We were worried about you, even Cornelia was scared, when I told her what happened. We thought we lost you"

"Mmm", Will nodded, her face was still buried in her hands.

"Are you sure you're okay Will?" Hay Lin asked.

"I'm fine", she pulled her head out of her hands and looked out the window, still refusing to look at Hay Lin, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you guys"

"Coulda fooled us", a voice from the door said.. Cornelia, Irma, and Taranee were standing in the doorway, each with a smile on her face.

"Skipping school girls?" Will asked, smiling slightly herself.

"Technically, no", Irma said, "We left astral drops at school. Now as long as they don't decide to cut class…"

"You okay Will?" Taranee asked.

"I'm _fine_", Will said, looking back out the window, "Really, I am"

"Well, we worry", Irma said, "We have every right to"

"I know", Will sighed, "Trust me, I'm worried to"

"I'm sure your mom'll be okay", Hay Lin said "Your just worried cuz the last time you saw your mom, you were fighting with her"

"What if something happens to her?" Will asked, "What if I have to go live with my dad? I won't be able to stay in Heatherfield, and then what? The whole world goes kaplooey? This just couldn't get any worse"

_Knock knock_

"Hello, is anyone home? This is Agent Medina"

"Of course, I could be wrong", Will said, "Just a minute!"

"We'd better hide", Hay Lin said, looking around, "Better go get the door Will"

Wills' POV

Will stood up shakily and made for the front door.

"Shouldn't you be in school?" Agent Medina asked as Will opened the door.

"Please", Will said, not caring about being rude, "I've had a hard couple of days, I don't need to get the third degree about Elyons' disappearance-"

"This isn't about Elyons' disappearance", Medina interrupted, "It's about Elyon.

Will gasped as Medina pulled Elyon into view, "She asked to come here", Medina explained, "Other wise it would have been straight to the police station"

"Uh, uh, okay", Will said, bewildered. A little dizzy to, she grabbed the door quickly to hold herself steady.

"Are you okay?" Medina asked, eyeing Will suspiciously.

"Fine, I'm fine" Will said, "I'll take care of Elyon, you don't have to stay here"

"Okay…" Medina said suspiciously. Elyon slipped into Wills' apartment, and Will shut the door before Medina could protest.

"Phew", Will sighed, leaning against the door, "The less she's in the picture, the better"

"Who is she?" Elyon asked.

"One of the agents that investigated your disappearance after you left for Meridian", Will explained.

"Great", Elyon muttered, "So, shouldn't you be in school?"

"Shouldn't you be in Meridian?" Will said snippishly. Elyon recoiled a little, looking hurt.

"Unh, sorry", Will groaned, "I-it's been a rough few days, things happening, this whole thing with Phobos breaking out is just adding to everything-"

"What's happened?" Elyon asked.

"Elyon?"

Both girls looked around and saw Irma, Taranee, Cornelia, and Hay Lin.

"What are you doing here?" Cornelia asked. She looked happy though.

"Looking for you guys, actually", Elyon said, "What are you doing here? Cutting school?"

"We have astral drops there", Irma said defensively, "You don't have to worry 'bout us"

"So, what are you doing here?" Will asked, "I mean, besides looking for us"

"Phobos is gathering followers", Elyon started to explain, "Castle guards caught old followers of Phobos trying to get to him, where ever he might be"

''Terrific", Will muttered, collapsing on the couch, "Now this really _can't_ get any worse. Actually, it could, but I really don't feel like going there, so…"

She drifted off with a sigh and buried her face back in her hands. Hay Lin sat down next to her and laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Is she okay?" Elyon asked.

"Lets' just say, things have been pretty crazy here in Heatherfield", Hay Lin said.

"So what?" Irma said, "Do we try and find Phobos and stop him before he gets some evil plan under way, or do we sit tight and hope for the best, or what?"

"Well Will?" Cornelia said, "You're the leader, your call, whatta you say?"  
"I-I…", Will shook her head to try and clear out the fog that had settled into her brain, "I dunno, maybe we should take the time to think about this-"

"Time isn't on our side Will", Elyon said carefully, "We need to make a decision now"

"Okay okay", Will said, "I guess we could maybe, check it out…"

Her voice drifted off. Hay Lin gave her a weird look, "You okay Will?"

"Yea", Will muttered, rubbing her head, "I'm fine, really"

"Lets go check this out then", Irma said, not noticing Wills weird behavior, "Coming Corny?"

"Don't call me Corny", Cornelia said, "And I guess I don't have much of a choice, do I?"

Irmas' POV

"All right", Elyon said, "This is where the guards said they caught Phobos' known followers"

"Okay", Will said, "If we catch anyone heading out this way, we can follow them, and hopefully they can lead us to Phobos"  
"Sounds good", Cornelia said. The girls were in their guardian forms, and were all behind one bush, shifting uncomfortably.

"Someone's coming", Will said suddenly, pointing down the road. A person was walking along the path, their face covered by a hood.

"Lets' go", Will said as the guy passed. They fell into careful step behind the person, careful not to let the person see them.

"Maybe we were wrong", Cornelia said half an hour later, "Maybe he isn't a follower of Phobos"

"Yea, this is a dead end", Irma said, "Lets' get out of here-"

Suddenly the guy whirled around, and they all got one big surprise.

"Cedric!"

"Yes guardians", Cedric hissed, "And you fell right into our trap"

He morphed into his snake form, "Prince Phobos truly did overestimate you"  
"Uh oh", Will whispered, "Not good"

"You said it", Cornelia.

"And it only gets worse", Elyon said. Will caught a glimpse of an evil smile on Elyons' face before she blasted them.

"Ow!" Irma yelled as she hit the ground, "Yo, Elyon, babe what's your problem?"

"No problem", Elyon said, "Just doing what my master told me to"

"W-What?" Will stammered, "Your master? Huh?"

"Elyon, what are you talking about?" Irma asked, "Master?"

"Phobos", Cornelia whispered, "He's hypnotized her or something"

"Bad", Taranee muttered, "We walked right into this, could we be anymore dumb?"

"Well, not moving seems pretty dumb to me", Will said, struggling to her feet.

"Good point, lets move", Irma said, jumping up.

"You're not going anywhere", Elyon said, holding up her hand. A shield formed in front of them, blocking their escape.

"Okay, fly", Hay Lin said, looking up.

But another shield appeared above them, cutting off their only escape.

"Oh man", Irma muttered, "Now what?"

"Elyon on one side, Cedric in snake form on the other", Taranee said, "Odds don't look good for us"

"We're gonna have to fight anyway", Will said, "Ready?"  
"No", Irma said, "Gonna have to do this anyway, aren't we?"

"Yes!", Will cried as Cedric whipped his tale out them. They flew as high up as the dome would allow, dodging the attack.

"Cornelia and Taranee, take Elyon", Will said, "Irma and Hay Lin, we're going after Cedric"

The girls nodded, and split up, Taranee and Cornelia heading for Elyon, Irma, Hay Lin, and Will going after Cedric.

"Elyon wait!" Cornelia said, landing in front of Elyon, "You don't want to do this, I know you don't!"

"I do what I must", Elyon said, holding up her hand. A wave of energy came out of her hand, and blasted Cornelia, throwing her backwards.

"Cornelia!" Taranee landed next to Cornelia and helped her up, "You okay?"  
"Yea", Cornelia muttered, "I'm okay. Wow, that was a hard hit"

Will, Irma, and Hay Lin weren't having much luck either.

"Water!" Irma cried, pointing her hand at Cedric. A stream of water flew out of her hand at Cedric, hitting him in the head. For all the good it did, she might as well have been throwing pebbles at him.

"Great!" Irma cried, "Will, this isn't working, now what?'

"I-I dunno", Will said, "I didn't expect this-"

"Look out Will!" Hay Lin yelled. Too late. Cedric hit Will hard with his tail, knocking her out of the air.

"Will!" Irma and Hay Lin yelled at the same time, "This isn't working", Irma added, "We need to figure out a way out of here"

"You're right", Hay Lin said, "Help Will, I'll go get Taranee and Cornelia"

"Okay", Irma said. Hay Lin flew over to where Taranee and Cornelia were fighting, and Irma flew down to see if Will was okay.

'Will?" she said as she landed, "You okay?"

"Uh, yea"Will groaned sitting up.

"Okay", Hay Lin said, landing next to the two girls, Taranee and Cornelia were with her, "How are we gonna get out of here?"

"Not a clue", Will said, standing up, "But we'd better figure it out soon, we aren't exactly winning. Hey, I know!"

"What?" Irma asked.

"Everyone aim at Elyon", she said, turning to the blonde girl, "She's the one keeping these shields up, if we break her concentration we can fly away"

"Don't hurt her though", Cornelia added as Hay Lin, Irma, and Taranee took aim.

"Don't worry", Irma said, "We won't"

The three girls blasted Elyon and knocked her backwards, casing her to lose concentration, and the shields around them broke, allowing them to fly away.

* * *

They flew fast thru the portal, and Will whirled around and closed it before Cedric and Elyon could follow. 

"Way to close", Irma said, as soon as they were back in human form.

"Lets' not do that again anytime soon", Will added, leaning against a nearby tree.

"I'm with you", Irma said, "It's late, we'd better get going, we told the astral drops to go to your place after school was over", she added to Will.

"Better get going then", Will said, pulling herself up.

* * *

"Glad they're gone", Irma said ten minutes later. They had gone back to Wills' apartment and gotten rid of their astral drops. 

"Yea…" Will said distantly, looking out the window. She looked exhausted.

"Maybe you should get some rest Will", Taranee said, "I don't mind staying here tonight, if you want me to-"

"No, you guys go home", Will said, "I'll be okay, really"

"It's been a long day for all of us", Hay Lin said, "Maybe we should all get some rest"

"Well okay", Irma said, "You're right about one thing: we should get going. See you tomorrow Will"

"Yea, see ya", Will muttered as the girls left.

* * *

whoa, jeez, I lost track of time, I've been typing this one chapter all day. Well, you know the drill, one week till next chapter. Oh, and if you would be so kind. Please review, I like reviews, I don't care for people who don't review though. Bye!


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer**-Yea yea, I don't own WITCH

WWWWWWWWWEEEEEEEEE! I'm in a good mood today, so I thought I'd publish early. I got the 17th W.i.t.c.h book today, yahoo!

**Chapter 15**-Good Things Come (and then turn bad)

**Wills' POV**

Once the others had left, Will walked over to the couch and collapsed onto it with a sigh. She was exhausted, yet she didn't want to sleep. That didn't stop her though. She didn't even remember falling asleep.

* * *

"Huh?" Will looked around, "Okay, what's going on?"

She was standing in the middle of nothingness. Literally. It was completely black all around. It wasn't like it was dark or anything, just black…well, it was hard to describe. She looked around, but didn't see anything, and it was really starting to scare her.

"Hello?" she yelled, but her voice was lost. _Not good, _she thought, _Not good, not good, not good, not good..._

"No, no, no…"

"What?" Will looked around. She knew she had heard someone talking, but didn't know who, or where the voice came from, "Who's there? Hello?"

"No, no, no…" Will looked to her left, and finally decided to try going that way. She walked for a few minutes, and finally, she found something that completely stopped her dead in her tracks: Elyon.

"Elyon!" Will cried, running forward, but she stopped. The last time she had seen Elyon, she'd been trying to destroy them.

"Will!" the blonde girl turned around, and Will saw there were tears in her eyes, "You're here!"

"What in the world is going on?" Will asked, "Last time I saw you, you had us trapped with Cedric, what-"

"Cornelia said it", Elyon said, "Phobos came to the castle, put some sort of spell on me, made me hurt all of you…"

She broke off with a shuddery sigh, and Will loosened up a little. It was obvious Elyon wasn't going to try and hurt her, so she took the chance…

"Where are we?" Will asked.

"I dunno", Elyon said, "I know one thing though: when you were fighting Cedric earlier, I saw everything. It's like, a mental prison or something, I don't understand…"

"So how did I get here?" Will asked.

"You got me", Elyon said, "I-I…"

"Elyon?" Will said uncertainly, watching Elyon falter. Suddenly Elyon jumped up and lashed out at Will, knocking her backwards.

"Elyon!" Will yelled, "What are you doing?"

"Huh?" Elyon fell backwards, clutching her head, "No stop, I-"

"What's going on?" Will asked desperately, "I don't understand, I-"

Elyon recovered from whatever was happening to her, and blasted Will with a wave of energy.

"AAAAHHH!" Will yelled as she flew backwards. She hit the ground with an"ow", and tried to pull herself back up.

"Oh man, that hurts", Will muttered, trying to pull herself up, while Elyon approached her, hand raised, "Elyon, don't…" Will said weakly, falling back to the ground.

"Too late guardian", Elyon said. Black energy pulsated around her hand as she prepared to fire at Will. And all Will could do was watch, knowing what was coming next…

"AAAHHH!" Will yelled, bolting right up. She shook her head, still breathing hard, like that dream had actually happened. "What time is it?' she muttered, looking around for a clock.

"Seven thirty!" she cried, "We got back it was like, three o'clock! I can't believe I slept that long!"

"Will?" she heard a knock from the door.

"Coming", Will called tiredly, pulling herself up.

"Yea?" Will said as she opened the door. It was Taranee.

"Irma called me", Taranee said, "Said she called here three times and never got an answer"

Will gave her a blank look for a second, then shook her head slightly and said, "Uh, sorry, I fell asleep. I'll call Irma and let her know everything's okay-"

"Everything is not okay", Taranee said, "I know you Will, you have that 'something's wrong' look, I'm not dumb Will"

"I know you're not", Will said, turning away from Taranee, "Nothing's wrong Taranee, I'm just tired"

"If you're sure…" Taranee said doubtfully, "I've gotta get home, if you don't want any company, I mean-"

"No, I'm okay", Will said, "You go home, I gotta go call Irma. Let her know everything's all right"

"All right, see you tomorrow Will", Taranee said as she left.

"Uh huh", Will muttered as the door closed. She grabbed the phone and dialed Irmas' number.

"Hello?" Irma picked up, and Will noticed a note of panic in her voice

"Hey Irma", she said dully.

"Will!" she yelled so loudly that Will pulled the phone away from her ear, "You're dead, do you know how worried I was?"

"Sorry Irma", she said, "I fell asleep, never heard the phone ring-"

"I'm guessing Taranee was over?" Irma asked.

"Yea", Will said.

"Did she wake you up?" Irma asked.

"No, I woke up before she got here", Will said with a sigh.

They talked a little more before Will found an excuse to hang up, not really in the mood to talk.

She made back for the couch, feeling more tired then she had before she had fallen asleep.

"What is going on with me?" she wondered out loud, "What was that dream supposed to mean?"

* * *

Will fell back to sleep on the couch, and by the time she woke up, it was ten o'clock the next morning.

"No way", she muttered, rubbing her eyes, "Ten? Great, so much for school, there's no way I'm going in this late"

_Ring ring_

"Even better", Will muttered, yanking the phone of the hook, "Hello?"

"I had a feeling you'd be home"

Will nearly dropped the phone, "Mom?"

"The one and only", her mom said with a laugh, "Why aren't you in school?"

"I-I overslept", Will said. It was true to.

"Okay, right", her mom said.

"A-Are you okay?" Will asked.

"Tch, I've been better", her mom said, "Been worse to, actually. How are you?"

"Me?" Will squeaked, "I-I'm fine, sort of"

"Whatta you mean, 'sort of'?" her mom asked.

"Huh? I mean, I'm fine, really", Will stammered quickly, not wanting to worry her mom.

They talked for a little while longer before some doctors came into Wills' moms' room and made her get off the phone. Will gave a small sigh of relief as she hung up, grateful that something was finally going right.

* * *

"Come on in guys", Will was saying a few hours later, opening the door for her friends.

"Why weren't you in school?" Taranee asked, "You could have at least sent an astral drop"

"I over slept", Will said, "Literally, I slept till ten a.m."

"Wow", Irma said, "I wish I could sleep that late"

"Uh huh", Will muttered, "Well, I do have some good news…"

"What?" Taranee asked.

"My mom's gonna be okay!" for the first time since she had gotten the call, Will felt truly happy.

"No way!" Irma cried, "I mean, that's great, but, I guess I just didn't expect it-"  
We get it Irma", Cornelia cut her off, "That's great Will"

"You're telling me", Will muttered.

"Bout time something went right", Irma added, "As for all our other problems…"  
"Not so good", Will finished the sentence for her, "So, any ideas?"

"I wanna know why Elyon attacked us yesterday", Irma said.

Wills' thoughts flashed back to her dream, but she shook it out of her head quickly, not really wanting to think about that.

"I'm telling you, she's under some kind of spell", Cornelia said, sticking to what she had said yesterday.

"Why are you here again?" Irma asked, obviously still on thin ice about the whole Cornelia thing.

"I'll be where ever I want to be", Cornelia snapped, "you're not in charge of me Irma"

"Don't fight", Hay Lin said, "Go one day without fighting, and I'll be happy"

The two girls glared at each other, but fell silent.

"Ah, silence", Hay Lin said, "Golden"

"Okay, can we stay on track?" Will said, "The track that started back at 'why did Elyon attack us?'"

"Right, Elyon", Taranee said, "Maybe Cornelia's right, maybe she is under some kind of spell, or something like that, but then again, who knows? She followed Phobos willingly once, who's to say she isn't again?"

"Are you serious?" Cornelia asked, "Come on, she followed him once, but it was different, she didn't know who he really was, she didn't know what he really wanted with her. It's different this time, I know it is-"  
"Cornelia, we know you you're tryin to go over all the possibilities", Hay Lin said, "But face it, Elyon was your best friend, are you sure that's not all your thinking about?"

"I know what I'm thinking Hay Lin", Cornelia said, "And I stick by what I'm saying, she's under some sort of spell"

"Corny, come on", Irma said, "Lets' go over some other possibilities, not just yours-"

"One, don't call me Corny", Cornelia said, "Two, you just don't want to believe I'm right because you hate me"

Will caught a note of hurt in her voice when she said that.

"Cornelia", Irma sighed, "I don't hate you, you just aggravate me sometimes. Ever since Caleb…well, you know, ever since that happened, you slam doors in our faces, you yell at us, it would make anyone mad. I'm just the only one who happens to hold a grudge in this group. I mean, lets face it, if any of us treated you like that, wouldn't you be aggravated? But in all honesty, I don't hate you. You always made me a little mad, the way you act, but this whole thing just puts it right over the top-"

"Oh be quiet", Cornelia snapped, "You never cared, you know you didn't!"

"Jeez, you try to be sympathetic", Irma muttered, "This is what you get…listen Cornelia, I don't care what you think of me right now, I don't hate you, I never did, you were the one who blew this whole thing way outta the water, whenever any of us tried to talk to you, you slammed doors in our faces, yelled at us, the whole thing. How would you feel if we did that to you?"

"Not very good", Cornelia muttered.

"There you go", Irma said, "I'll say it one more time, and if it doesn't get through to you then I don't know what to say: I don't hate you, I just happen to hold grudges, ask anyone"

Cornelia looked at Irma, and Will noticed there were tears in her eyes. Yet they didn't seem like sad tears…

"Aaawww", Irma said happily, "Come on Corny, gimme a hug"

Cornelia glared at her kiddingly for a second, then caved and gave Irma the hug she had asked for.

"YES!" Hay Lin yelled, punching the air with her fist, "YES! Peace at last!"

"One more thing goes right today", Will sighed happily. It'd been a long time since Cornelia and Irma had looked at each other and had not started fighting.

"Okay", Taranee said happily, "Now that Cornelia and Irma are straightened out, we do still have problems, and Cornelias' idea about Elyon is the only one we have…"

"Yea", Will said, "Except…"

"What?" Cornelia asked, giving Will a weird look, "Except what? As in, what aren't you telling us Will?"

"I-Nothing", Will said, "Thinking about something else, don't worry about it-"

"You've been keeping secrets from us a lot lately, what's going on?" Taranee asked.

"Nothing", Will said, "Really, it's nothing, just forget about it"

* * *

They talked for about an hour, and were no closer to figuring anything out then they had been when they started. Will sighed heavily as her friends left, and found herself feeling worse than ever. She knew what she was hiding from her friends might be important, but she couldn't bring herself to talk about it. Maybe the dream scared her. Maybe it was just the fact she didn't think it was that important. It was all very confusing. The thoughts drifted lazily through her mind, and she couldn't pick one from the other. She groaned a little; this whole thing gave her a headache.

* * *

She ended up in school the next day, and spent most of the day trying not to fall asleep. She was relieved for the end of the day, needless to say.

**Irmas' POV**

"Hey Will", Irma caught up to Will as she walked out of school.

"Hi", Will muttered.

"Whatsup?" Irma asked cheerily.

"Irma, if that trick didn't work before, what makes you think it'll work now?" Will asked impatiently.

""Good point", Irma said, "This is what happens when I listen to Hay Lin. I can use all kinds of sneaky, devious tricks to get you to talk, but no, be straight forward, don't be sneaky, just work it into the conversation"

"I don't know what you're so worried about", Will said.

"The fact that you're keeping secrets from us, that's what", Irma said.

"I'm not keeping secrets from you", Will insisted.

"Uh huh, right", Irma said, obviously not convinced.

"I dunno how many more times I can tell you I'm telling the truth before you'll actually listen", Will said, "I'm telling the truth, if you don't believe me, that's-_uuunnnhhh_"

Irma jumped and grabbed Will as she stumbled, to keep her from crashing into anyone or anything.

"Will?" Irma said uncertainly, "You okay?"

"Uh, yea", Will muttered, straightening up shakily, "I'm okay"

"Is it your usual dizzy spell?" Irma asked, looking around, "Is there a portal near by?"

"No", Will muttered, "It was…different. I don't know how, it just was"

**Elyons' POV**

Elyon watched as Irma came to Wills aid after her little dizzy spell. She heard the two girls talking to each other, and knew exactly why this dizzy spell was different from the many others Will'd had in the past. She had been the one who caused it. It was meant to be a sign, a sign that danger was coming. If Elyon had been at a better range, it would have been a lot worse. She watched the girls for a few seconds, then turned away from them. She wasn't in the mood to watch Irma go all sad eyed over her friend, and get all concerned for Will. It made her sick.

"Soon Will, you won't have to worry about your little dizzy spells", Elyon whispered, "Or anything at all"


	16. Chapter 16

Me back again! Party! Before I start, one quick thing:

**Scottgrubb**-Your idea is just too perfectly evil not to use. I've already started writing up and thinking about plans for it, and promise to credit you for it in every chapter from now on. And did I mention thanks for the idea? Well, thanks! Now, on to the chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 16-**Endless Questions

**Taranees' POV**

"This is getting serious", Will said, "It was bad enough that Phobos is back, but now he's got Elyon on his side. That's just gonna make everything harder"

"Plus, we still don't know how to break whatever spell he's got Elyon under", Cornelia added. Taranee noticed at Cornelias' words, Will cringed slightly, and Taranee couldn't help but wonder why.

"Okay", Irma said, oblivious, "Does anyone have any good news?"  
"Irma", Cornelia groaned, "This is serious. Act that way for once"  
"I know it's serious", Irma said impatiently, "But what do you want me to say? We're all doomed? Cuz it sure looks that way to me"

"Okay, okay", Hay Lin said, quickly falling into her old peace keeping ways, "Lets' not fight. We just have to come up with a plan"

"Yea right", Irma said sarcastically, "What are we suppose to do? We're stuck, no matter which way we turn"

"She's right", Will said, "I'm open to suggestions if anyone has them"

"Our leader doesn't even know what to do!" Cornelia exclaimed, "We rally are done for!"

"No, we're not", Hay Lin said, "We just have to think about it"  
"Think about what?" Taranee asked, "Irma's right, we're stuck. We have no ideas, Elyon is under some sort of spell that we have no clue how to break, Phobos is back, we-"

Irma put her hand over Taranees' mouth, "Calm down Taranee", she said, "We never know what we're doing, but we always land on our fight, right? Now's no different"

"Says who?" Taranee asked, pushing Irmas' hand away, "Everyone hits rock bottom at one point, maybe this is ours"

"Come one guys!" Will exclaimed suddenly, "We can't keep fighting, fighting never gets us anywhere, except someone getting mad, and that never helps! Now come on, stop arguing, and start thinking!"

There was a ringing silence following Wills' outburst. Irma and Hay Lin we're wearing identical looks of shock, and Cornelia was looking at Will like something she had never quite seen before.

"_Unh_", Will groaned and buried her face in her hands, "I-sorry guys, I dunno…I dunno what happened, I…"

Her voice drifted off with a shudder, and Taranee laid a sympathetic hand on her friends shoulder. Will was trembling, and Taranee had a feeling the last week was really catching up to her.

"Okay", Irma said finally, "Will's loosing it, sp any suggestions?"  
"Irma!" Cornelia snapped, "For once in your life, be serious!"

"Don't fight", Will said quietly, "This isn't getting us anywhere, why don't we just take a break?"

"Yea, okay", Irma said in a defeated voice, "I guess we can do that…"  
Irma, Cornelia, and Hay Lin left, but Taranee hung back.  
"You okay Will?" Taranee asked, "You've been pretty quiet lately, I mean, I realize the last week has been hard on you, but I get the feeling you're hiding something"

Will sighed, "What would you say if I told you I might know something about what's going on?"

Taranee was stumped. Will knew something? Why hadn't she said something while they had been arguing about it? And just what was she hiding? "What are you talking about?" she finally asked.

"Never mind", Will said with a sigh, "Forget I said anything"  
"But I-" Taranee knew it was pointless to fight with Will, but that wasn't going to stop her from trying.

"Taranee", Will said firmly, "Forget it. Never mind, I never said anything, got it?"

"Got it", Taranee gave in, "See ya later Will"

But as she left, a nagging voice was telling her not to give up, to pressure Will. She was hiding something, and she had to go back and-

She blocked out the voice. Will would tell them when she was ready. Taranee just hoped it wouldn't be too late by then.

* * *

Well, another chapter come and gone. Sorry it wasn't all that good, it'll get better, me promise. And another big thanks to ScottGrubb for his tottaly inspiring idea, bye! 


	17. Chapter 19

Well, I'm back again, and I'm actually updating when I'm suppose to be, points! Hehe, now, before we start, I Don't own Witch, and I don't own the idea associated with this fic. Not fully anyway, the idea is Scottgrubbs, I'm just building off of it. Now for the chapter.

--

**Chapter 19**- Fighting Never Helps

**Hay Lins' POV**

Hay Lin was still trying to figure out exactly what had happened. She knew what she has heard in Phobos's throne, room, but something about it just didn't seem right. She'd known Elyon her whole life, was it really possible Elyon was never really their friend? Was it really just a hoax?

And then there was Will. How could she say those things? Maybe she hadn't known Elyon as long as the others, but still, she had really crossed the line with what she had said. Elyon wasn't a lost cause. Not yet. Not as long as they were around. But how could she convince Will of that? Lately, Will…well, she hadn't been the same. She'd become more cold and quiet, and her eyes had lost that shy girl sort of look they'd always had. It was sad to look at the way this ordeal had changed them all. Even Irma didn't quip as much anymore. It was sad.

* * *

Hay Lin could not for the life of her sleep that night. All she could do was think about the situation they were in, and how they were going to get out of it.

* * *

Will refused to talk to them the next day. Cornelia wasn't even in school. That left Irma, Hay Lin, and Taranee to puzzle over their problem.

"I mean, really", Irma was saying during lunch, "I'm not sticking up for Corny or anything, but Will was just being to unreasonable about it!"

"Do you think maybe Cornelia was right?" Taranee asked, "Maybe Phobos did know we were in there, and he did that just to throw us off balance"

"Well, if that's what he was aiming for", Hay Lin said, "It worked"

"No kidding", Irma said, moving her food around her plate, "And what was Elyon talking about anyway? _She was so worried_. The last time any of us saw Elyon before she lured us into that death trap was when she came here right after Phobos came back. She was never alone with Will, and when we were with her, Will never seemed remotely worried for Elyon. Do you get the feeling Will isn't telling us something?"

Hay Lin sighed and looked over at the table where Will was eating, alone, "More and more everyday"

* * *

"Hey Will", Will looked around her locker door. Hay Lin was attempting to talk to her, to make her understand, even.  
"What?" she said, going back to looking through her locker, "If you're here to talk to me about Elyon-"

"Will please-"  
"You can just forget about it", she slammed her locker door shut, and started to walk away.

"Will, come on!" Hay Lin jogged after her, desperate to get her to listen, "Please, we-we have a theory Will, about Elyon-"

"So do I", Will said as they left the school building, "Elyon was spy for Phobos. Weren't you listening Hay Lin? It wasn't a hoax, they didn't _know_ we were there. They were just discussing their evil plan, and we overheard it. Forget Hay Lin, it's a no go. She's the enemy now, can't you just understand-"

"Why don't you understand!" both girls jumped and looked around. Irma was standing behind them, Taranee was close behind her. "Elyon was our friend Will!" Irma snapped angrily, "Maybe you don't care about her, and maybe you don't wanna help her, but we do!"

"You can't help someone who doesn't wanna be helped!" Will shot back, "I liked Elyon too, but if she was always just here to spy on us, then what can we do about it?"  
" _You_ can stop being so negative about it", Irma said, "And try to help us!"

"If you guys wanna go on some useless mission to save someone who doesn't need saving, fine!" Will snapped, "But count me out!"

She whirled around and stormed away. "Good riddance!" Irma called after her, "Who needs her anyway?"

Hay Lin and Taranee exchanged a worried glance. They all needed her. Will had the Heart of Candracar, that was basically their power source, did Irma really think they would get anywhere without it? Before they could ask her this though, Irma had turned and walked away, probably to avoid another fight.

"This isn't good", Taranee said quietly as they watched Irma retreat, "Fighting isn't going to help anything, but that seems to be all anyone can do anymore"

"You're right", Hay Lin said in a hushed voice, "I just hope we can all get over it before something really bad does happen"

* * *

Well, okay, it was sort of short, but at least I'm updating, right? Anyway, Taranee's right, fighting isn't helping these girls at all, and, I'm sad to say, this is most definitely going to get worse before it gets better. 


	18. Chapter 17

I'm back again! Sorry updates are taking so long, to take a quote from my friend Shayna, "I have so much homework you could drown me in it." Plus, I've recently gotten involved in a new project, but here and now isn't the time or place to divulge the info on it. For now, just enjoy the chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 17**-The Truth comes out (or part of it anyways)

**Hay Lins' POV**

Hay Lin sighed as she looked at the board. Mr. Collins was saying one thing or another about some war, and even though she should have been taking notes, she wasn't. She had so much going on, all of sudden, learning about the Revolutionary War just wasn't as important as it had once been.

_Brrrrrriiiinnnnggg!_

She jumped a mile as the bell went off. She'd never even noticed the time. She sighed with relief as she grabbed her bag and notebook; she needed a place where she could gather her thoughts with_out _a bunch of kids crowding around her.

"Hey Hay Lin", Irma said, catching up to her as she walked out of history, "Something wrong? You've been kind of distant today"

"Wrong?" Hay Lin asked, a hint of sarcasm in her voice, "Wrong? Why what could possibly be wrong? I mean, besides the fact the world is in danger, and one of our friends is working for our worst enemy under some sort of spell? Other then that, what could be wrong?"

"Sh!" Irma said quickly, looking around, "You want the whole world to find out or what Hay Lin? Come on, lets find the others"

The two girls walked along in a huffy silence, but Hay Lin was thinking about what Irma had said. Irma was right, she couldn't go blowing her anger around in public places, and she didn't wanna blow their secrets.

"Hey Taranee, hey Will", Irma snapped Hay Lin out of her thoughts. For the first time, she was able to get a good look at Will. Any other time she'd been with Will, they had been trying to brainstorm ideas. Now that they were just hanging out (well, sort of hanging) she got to take a good look at the red head. And to be honest, she didn't look all that great. She looked tired and worried, all the signs of someone who had way to much to do, and not enough time to do it. Or at least someone who had taken on too much responsibility.

"Where's Corny?" Irma asked, looking around.

"I think she already left", Taranee said, "I saw her leave school anyway"

"Well that's just great", Irma huffed, "How in the world are we suppose to figure out what to do when we're one guardian short? Is Cornelia hot and cold, or is it me?"

"Lets' just take a break from this", Will said suddenly, surprising them all, "I mean…lets' just not worry about it tonight, we can always figure it out later…"

"Are you okay Will?" Irma asked, eyeing the redhead suspiciously.

"Why do you all keep asking me that?" she asked in an annoyed voice, "I told you a million times, and I'll say it once more: _I'm fine_. You can stop worrying at any time now you know"

Hay Lin and Irma exchanged a look, but let the conversation drop. Obviously Will wanted to have her secrets.

* * *

"I'm sorry, but I think she knows something", Irma was saying later, "I talked to Taranee a little while ago, she said she couldn't even read Wills' mind. It's like she has some kind of wall in her head or something"

"I dunno about that Irma", Hay Lin said with a laugh, "But I do think your right. The question is, is Will going to tell us what's going on?"

"Of course she-"

"IRMA!" Hay Lin cringed. Obviously Irma had been on the phone too long.

"Talk to you later", she said quickly, before hanging up.

_Ring, ring!_

"Hello?" Hay Lin grabbed the phone, trying to sound perky, even though she had a lot on her mind.

"Hi Hay Lin", it was Will, "Could you come over for a little while?"  
"Sure", Hay Lin said, slightly puzzled, "But why-?"

"I'll explain when you get here, just trust me okay?" Will said. She sounded a little weirded out about something. Hay Lin took the chance.

"I'll be over in ten minutes", she said before hanging up.

* * *

Hay Lin listened as Will told her about everything had happened to her the last few days. The whole thing sounded weird to Hay Lin. Especially the part about the dream.

"So wait a minute", Hay Lin said as soon as Will was done, "Are you telling me Elyon contacted you in your dream?"  
"I'm not sure!" Will said desperately, "I don't know what's going anymore, I just know it's anything but normal"  
"I don't know if you've noticed, but out lives stopped being normal a long time ago", Hay Lin said with a smile. She was trying to make Will feel better. She could tell it wasn't working.

"We'll think of something", she said reassuringly, lying through her teeth, "I promise"

* * *

Okay, one, don't kill me for being so late on the update, two, I know I said I would introduce Scottgrubbs' idea in this chapter, and I'm really sorry that I didn't. I do plan on using it, but I didn't have time to add it in to this chapter. Next chapter, I promise, you will find out just how evil Scottgrubb is. Until then, review. 


	19. Chapter 18

Once again, sorry for the wait on the update, I'm up to my eyeballs here in work. Anyway, new chapter starts right now! (Sorry, couldn't resist). And by the way, just like I promised, I will introduce Scottgrubbs idea in this chapter, this time for real. Unfortunately, it will be a sort of short chapter, but the idea will get into it, I promise. Ok, on with the chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 18**- An Unknown Twist

**Cornelias POV**

Cornelia sighed as the girls walked along the Meridian streets. What was she doing with them? She should have been at home, protecting Caleb, after all. But she had left Napoleon there, so she could only hope…

"Are we almost there?" Irma broke through Cornelias thoughts whining.

"Do you have a hot date tonight?" Cornelia snapped.

"Haha", Irma said sarcastically, "You think, just because your-"

"One day", Will cut her off, "One day of peace is all I ask, is that too much for you two? Evidently it is, because all you two ever seem to do is bicker and bicker and-"

"We left Astral Drops behind in case this took too long", Hay Lin said, "If Irma has a date, her Astral Drop will cover for her"

"I never said-"

"Save it!"

The girls walked along in a huffy sort of silence. Before long, Phobos' castle came into view, looming over the darkened city, which had changed so much since their last visit.

They had just restored Elyon to the throne. Everything had been so bright and joyous. Now it looked the same as it had _before_ Elyon was restored to the throne. Kind of creepy.

"Are you guys sure about this?" Cornelia said suddenly, looking over at the others. The four girls gave each other a surprised look.

"Cornelia", Will said slowly, "This was your idea!"

"I know", Cornelia said, "But, I dunno, something about this I just don't…I don't like…"

"There is something a little weird about this", Hay Lin said, "It's just too easy, if you ask me. Nothing ever goes this easy"

"You have a point", Will admitted, "But we got this far, right? So, we can just…I dunno…we have to keep going"

That last part came out so strong, that even Cornelia faltered. Will had never wanted her position as a leader, and Cornelia had never thought she would fit the job. But it worked out okay, and Cornelia has gained a little respect for Will, who had learned to grow into her leader roll. The girls moved on, still apprehensive about what they were getting themselves into.

* * *

"This is just too easy", Taranee said a little while later, "Doesn't anyone else think so?"

"Keep going", Will said firmly. They'd somehow made into the castle, and were now moving quickly. How they'd gotten this far without someone catching them was way above anyone's heads, but they had, so that had to mean something. Probably that they were being lured into a trap. Of course, though, no one wanted to think like that. "Keep going", Will repeated as Cornelia came to halt.

"No", Cornelia said quietly, "Listen…"

The girls became very quiet, their ears straining to hear whatever it was Cornelia was hearing.

"I hear something", Hay Lin said, "Sounds like someone's talking…"

"It's coming from up ahead", Irma said, pointing, "Call me crazy-"

"Gladly"

"But one of the voices sounds like Elyon!" Irma finished as though Cornelia had never said anything.

Will looked up ahead, "Lets go", she said after a minute.

"Will", Taranee said quietly, "I', not so sure about this-"  
"Do you have a better idea?" Will snapped. Taranee cringed, but didn't answer. Will started walking away, and the others moved quickly to keep up.

"What's with Will?" Cornelia said quietly to Hay Lin as they walked, "She seems kind of…off today"

"I don't know", Hay Lin said, shrugging, "She's been a little weird for awhile, but it hasn't exactly been a normal week"

"Good point", Cornelia said, "You don't think-"

"Are you two gonna talk all day?" Will snapped suddenly, looking over at the Asian and blonde girls, "Or are you gonna keep up?"  
"Sorry", Hay Lin said quickly. As she jogged ahead of Cornelia, though, the earth guardian was sure she heard Hay Lin mutter, "Drill sergeant Will"

Cornelia suppressed a giggle, and moved to keep up with the group.

"The throne room", Will said, coming to halt after a few minutes of walking. There were voices coming from inside. Irma pushed her ear against the door, and tried to listen.

"Well?" Hay Lin said.

"Door's too thick", Irma said, pulling her ear away, "definitely sounds like Elyon is in there though"

"So what, do we bust down the door, or sit here and hope it opens?" Cornelia asked.

"Too bad there inst a way to…"

"Way to what?" Irma asked Will. She'd started to say something, but never finished. Cornelia hated it when people did that, it just led to more questions.

"Will?" Hay Lin asked. Will shook her head like she was trying to clear the fog out of her brain or something.

"Sorry", she apologized, "I was just thinking, too bad there isn't a way for us to get in there without being noticed"

"There isn't", Cornelia said, "Is there?"

"Yes!" Will said, her brown eyes shining with excitement. She held up her hand, and commanded, "Heart of Candracar!"

As always, the Heart popped out of her hand, and lay in her palm, glowing.

"Okay…" Irma said slowly, "And that will help us…how?"

Will smirked and said, "Heart of Candracar, make us invisible!"

Cornelia's body shimmered and disappeared, and as she looked around, she saw the same thing was happening to the others.

"Oh yea!" Irma said, "I forgot we could do that, cool, this is gonna be great!"

"Hope it works", Will said as the five girls, invisible, pushed open the door to the throne room.

"So the leader truly believes you are under a spell?" Phobos asked, his voice dripping with cruelty.

"Yes", the cruel, cold tone voice of Elyon drifted into their hearing, "She was so worried. You know, it's too bad, I kind of liked Will, liked them all, really, but, if they must try and stop us…"

Cornelia froze. She'd only heard Elyon speak like that once before, and that had been when she believed the guardians evil. Still, she was compelled to keep listening.

"They truly believe you did not know about your heritage", Phobos mocked, "Fools…"

"Yea", Elyon grinned evilly, "Good for me, though, I could keep watch on them, and not have them suspicious of me at all, and now, the girls are probably holed up in Will's room, trying to think up a way to save me…"  
She laughed in a voice full of cold cruelness. Cornelia was shaking. Not Elyon, no, Elyon would never…no, it wasn't possible; Elyon had been her best friend for years, no…

"Come on", she heard Will whisper, "Lets get going"

But Cornelia was rooted to the ground. She wanted to burst into tears; she didn't care if they discovered her.

"Come on", Will repeated urgently, "Lets get out of here before they find us"

Cornelia finally pulled herself together, and ran out quietly. When they were finally far enough away from the room, Will made them visible again, and now, looking around, she could see that the others were as freaked about this whole thing as she was.

They didn't talk the whole way back to the portal, and by the time they got back to Earth and closed the portal, Cornelia wanted to scream.

"We'd better get home", Will said quietly as soon as the portal was closed. Cornelia couldn't quite believe what she was hearing. Had Will been under a rock or something the whole time? The others gave her equal looks of shock.

"Will", Hay Lin said, "Don't you think, maybe we should…I dunno, try and find a way to save Elyon-?"

Her voice faltered and died though, after a cold, cruel look from Will. "Obviously", Will said in a calm voice, "Elyon doesn't need saving. So I wouldn't worry if I were you"

"How can you say that?" Cornelia asked Will. Will may not have known Elyon for long, but to be like this about it? "She's our friend", Cornelia said, her voice a bit stronger now, "We can't just leave her! They-they must have known we were there, they set up, Elyon…"  
"You can't keep making excuses!" Will snapped, "Elyon knew exactly what she was doing, she was never under a spell, and she never needed our help! For all we know, she was the one who released Phobos!"

Cornelia felt like someone had slapped her in the face. "You're wrong", she finally said, "You're wrong!"

"Sometimes, Cornelia", Will said evenly, "The truth hurts"

She turned to walk away. "Will Vandom", Cornelia said as she watched the red-head look away, "We've always been on different pages. But if you're going to be like this, if you're going to be against helping Elyon-"

"We can't help someone who doesn't want to be helped!" Will snapped, whirling around, her eyes filled with anger, "This is the way it is, Elyon's the enemy now, get over it!"

Cornelia looked at the others, and could see none of them agreed with Will. "We could", Hay Lin said quietly, "Investigate some more, maybe we missed something, maybe it was all a hoax-"

"You don't get it!" Will said, turning to Hay Lin, "It wasn't a hoax, it was _real_! Get over it! I'm sorry, but if Elyon wants to be the enemy, let her, you can't let some friendship stand in the way of our job!"

"Our job stinks", Irma muttered. Even she couldn't find a joke for this. Cornelia glared at Will, and for a second considered yelling some more, trying to make Will understand. But Will beat her to it.

"Whether you like it or not", she said in that same, annoyingly even voice, "This is the way it is, now for the last time: _get over it_"

And before anyone could stop her, she turned around and walked away, leaving four, very stunned girls in her wake.

* * *

Okay, for those who didn't pick up on it, this was Scottgrubbs idea, word for word:_ What if Elyon was never really on the side of good to begin with? What if she just pretended to not know about Meridian, gain the girls' trust, and then turn on them in this story? And, what if, thus, she was actually helping Phobos take over the universe?_

Yes, as I said before, he is evil, and I'm worse for going along with it. I'm sorry; it was just too good to pass up! Anyway, I'll update soon, see ya around! And Scottgrubb? Thanks for the idea, like I said; I'll credit you in every place possible.


	20. Chapter 20

Okay, I'm back, finally updating. Yea me! Sorry about the wait, I've been pretty busy lately, I can't even seem to find time for Fanfiction anymore. Scary I know. Anyway, on with the chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 20**-Things get Worse (and worse and worse) Before they get Better

**Will's POV**

Will sighed and glared out the window. Any harsh feelings she felt towards her friends had yet to evaporate. She just couldn't understand _why_ they insisted on trying to _save_ Elyon, when she so obviously _didn't _need saving. Even if Elyon _had_ been friends with Irma, Cornelia, and Hay Lin for years, she was the enemy, why couldn't they see that? If they could just look at it from a different angle, they would she was being _unreasonable_ as Irma had so nicely put it. A sudden surge of anger shot through her. She'd never asked for this! She'd never asked for the responsibility, never wanted it…

Angry thoughts moved around Will's head. Everything always seemed to be against her, whether it was Heatherfield or Fadden Hills…

-x-x-Flashback-x-x-

_"Moving!" Sarah yelled, "Moving! Will, you can't!"_

_"You're the only one who cares", Will muttered, bending lower over her paper._

_"Well", Sarah hesitated, "I won't lie Will, ever since your parents split up, even before, you haven't been much fun, but that doesn't mean we want you to leave!" she added hastily as Will uttered and impatient "tuh" and started to write faster._

_"Yea well, that's life", she said as the bell rang. The girls gathered up their stuff and left study hall, both getting disapproving looks from the teacher. "Did you know Will was moving?" Sarah demanded a mildly bored looking Rachel as they approached her locker._

_"Yea", Rae said, obviously undeterred by the news, "What was our science homework?"_

_"Who cares!" Sarah snapped, "Will's moving, and you're going on about science homework!"_

_"What with Sarah now?" Kelsey and Jen came up from behind, both carrying a bunch of books, "Will moving, right?"_

_"Boy, great to see you guys care _so _much", Sarah said sarcastically as they left school._

_"Drop it", Will said quietly as they walked down the street", "Just forget about it"_

_"Will-" Sarah started to say, but Will cut her off._

_"See you guys later", she took off down another street, leaving her friends, who were already talking about their plans for the weekend._

* * *

_Ring-Ring_

_Will was greeted by the phone as she walked in. As she was told by her mom, she let the answering machine pick up._

_"Hey, it's Thomas, I know you're there Susan. Or you Will. Come on, pick up…_"

_Will let the message run before deleting it. Her mom had enough problems without dealing with her dad, to._

_Ring-Ring_

_Again, she didn't pick up. It wasn't her dad this time, though._

_"Hey Will, it's Rae. I was thinking about what Sarah said, and she was right. So if, I dunno, you wanted to hang out later…"_

She let this message run before deleting it as well.

-x-x-End Flashback-x-x-

Will glared at her stuffed frog for a moment before pummeling it and throwing it across the room. She was used to the odds being against her. That didn't mean she had to like it.

* * *

Irma refused to look at Will the next day. Hay Lin and Taranee kept shooting the red-head completely unreadable looks, which she ignored. Cornelia was once again absent.

"I mean, come on", she heard Irma saying to Hay Lin and Taranee as they walked out of school (she'd some how ended up walking behind them).

"She can't keep this up forever", Irma continued, "Even _Will_ isn't that stubborn"

"No, but _you're _that thick-headed", Will snapped heatedly, shoving past the girls. She was surprised Irma didn't try to back-hand her. That was how angry she looked.

* * *

_Ring-Ring_

It was a habit she had, letting the answering machine pick up the phone. Kind of sad, really.

_"Hey Will, it's Mom-"_

She'd grabbed the phone before her mother could finish, "Hi!"  
"You just get in?" her mom sounded so confused.

"Uh, yea", Will said quickly, "So how are you?"  
"Well", her mom said mysteriously, "The doctor said I can come home tomorrow!"

" _Really_!" Will squeaked, "I mean, uh…really!"

"Yes Will, really", her mom laughed, "Why do you sound so confused?"  
"I, uh, no reason", she said quickly, "Just…surprised, is all"

"Unbelievable eh?" her mom asked with another laugh.

They talked for a few more minutes before some doctors came in and made her mom get off the phone. Will hung up feeling considerably better.

* * *

Cornelia still was in school the next day. Irma kept shooting Will uncharacteristic glares. Taranee and Hay Lin still seemed undecided, all though Will noticed neither of them tried to make peace.

* * *

"Mom!" she came home to a surprise; her mother was sitting at the kitchen table. Will practically flew into her mother's open arms, and for a second, she forgot all her problems.

"It's good t o see you to", her mother said quietly. It took Will a second to realize she was crying. They both were.

"What's wrong Will?" her mother asked after a minute.

Will shook her head, "I…I was just so _worried_. I didn't know what to think, or what to do, if something happened to you…"

"Her mom sighed and hugged Will a little tighter, "You don't have to worry about me", she said quietly, "I'm not going anywhere"

Which made Will cry harder.

* * *

By the next day, Will felt a lot better. She'd stayed up all night talking to here mom, so she felt a little tired, but other than that, she felt great. Not everyone shared her attitude though. Irma was still obviously mad, and Taranee and Hay Lin were still not taking sides. They weren't talking to Will though. Cornelia was once again absent. Will was starting to get worried.

* * *

She sighed wearily as the last bell rang. She knew what she had to do. And she hated it.

"Irma1' she ran after the water guardian as she left school. Irma turned around, surprised. Will caught up to her, and her words got caught in her throat. She knew what she had to do, but-

"I'm sorry!" Will jumped a mile. She'd just heard _I'm sorry_ out of _Irma_. She had to be hearing things.

"Yea, I said sorry", Irma smirked, "And I meant it to"

Will's eyes glistened with tears, "I'm sorry to", she said finally, "I'm _really_ sorry, for everything…"

Irma cocked her head curiously, "You okay Will? You seem kinda…"

"I'm fine", Will muttered quickly, turning away.

"Finally!" Hay Lin chirped from behind them, "I thought you two would _never_ make up!"

"Where's your faith in friends?" Irma quipped, "We're still missing someone though. Anyone up for a talk with Corny?"

* * *

Talk with Corny. Yea right. That'll happen when I own Witch. Which, by the way, I don't, as I forgot to state in the beginning. Anyway, I'm gonna say right now, I am no good with things like reunions (like Will and her mom) so if that part wasn't so good, don't hurt me please. Anyway, I've got two other fics I wanna update, so I gotta go. And if I don't update next week, merry Christmas! 


	21. Chapter 21

Merry Christmas/Happy Kwanza/Happy Hanukah/if you don't celebrate any of these, disregard this! Enjoy the chapter! It'll be kind of short, because I have four other fics I would like to update before 10:00 tonight, so sorry if you don't like the length. Oh, and another thing, for something that might be confusing in this chapter; this takes place before book 15. Or any book after12 for that matter. I'm making it like a whole other arc, almost.

* * *

**Chapter 21**- The Truth Comes Out

**Hay Lin's PoV**

Hay Lin was overjoyed to see her friends were actually talking to each other without fighting. It was the first time she'd seen it in awhile. They'd overcome one hurdle on the track. But now it was time to overcome another, better known as-

"Cornelia!" Irma yelled, banging on the door, "Cornelia, I know you're in there!"

Hay Lin sighed. They'd been knocking on the door for about ten minutes, and still no answer.

"Cornelia!"  
"Maybe we should come back another time?" Will suggested meekly.

"I know she's in there", Irma said as she continued to bang on the door, "CORNELIA!"

"Hey!" one of the neighbors came out of their apartment, "Obviously the Hales aren't home, so why don't you just-"

"Forget it", said a depressed voice from behind them; Cornelia had finally decided to answer the door, "What do you guys want?"  
"To talk to you", Taranee said, "I mean, I don't know if you noticed, but Irma was trying to break down the door-"

"Could you please take this inside?" the neighbor asked huffily before slamming her own door. Cornelia sighed and motioned for them to come in.

"Okay, what?" she asked as she flopped on the couch. Hay Lin noticed the flower that had once been Caleb was sitting on the table. She sighed; she knew what this was about. First Cornelia had lost Caleb, and now she had to deal with the fact that her best friend was a traitor. Not an easy thing.

"Cornelia, can we talk?" Will asked in a quiet voice. Cornelia didn't answer, all though Hay Lin noticed her friend's face harden at Will's voice.

"Cornelia, please-" Taranee started to say, but finally Cornelia completely snapped.

"I don't want to talk!" she snapped, jumping up, "Get a clue, I don't want to talk! Especially not to her!" she jerked her thumb at Will, " _She_ is the reason all this happened!" She looked over at Will, "If you had never moved here, none of this would have happened! It's all your fault! And now you think you can all just talk your way out of this! Talking doesn't always work you know! Sp why can't you just leave me alone!" None of the girls knew what to say, so Cornelia continued, "All I ever wanted was to be normal, but I can't have that because I'm stuck with these dumb powers! My best friend is the ruler of some other dimension, and, oh yea, don't forget she would destroy us if she ever saw us again, just because she's a spy for some other worldly person! Am I supposed to be okay with that! Because I'm sorry, but I'm not! And if you expect me to be, you're all insane! Now just get out and leave me alone!"

"Cornelia-"  
"No!" Cornelia yelled, turning to Will, "Leave me alone! That's all I ask! I don't care if you want to or not! Just get out! No, not a word!" she said as Will opened her mouth to speak again, "I don't want you to say anything! I'm done listening to you, every time I listen to you, something bad happens! I don't care if I ever see you again, Will Vandom. Right now, I hate you!"

Will listened to Cornelia, her eyes wide with shock. Hay Lin shifted her gaze to Irma and Taranee. Irma looked mad. Taranee looked surprised. Hay Lin looked back to Will, and wasn't exactly surprised to see there were tears in her eyes. Cornelia turned away from them, her arms folded. Will gazed at the blonde girl for another second, before whirling around and running out of the apartment, slamming the door behind her.

"Well I hope you're happy Cornelia!" Irma snapped, I really hope you're happy!"

She stormed out of the apartment without another word. Hay Lin and Taranee exchanged a glance, and ran out behind Irma, neither in the mood to try and talk to Cornelia now.

They followed Irma out of the apartment building. Will was nowhere to be seen. Irma looked up and down the street before turning in the direction of Will's apartment. Hay Lin and Taranee followed her, all three of them silent.

"I can't believe Cornelia would say something like that!" Irma said suddenly, "I mean, I doubt Will moved here saying, _Gee, how can I ruin the lives of my new friends?_ How could Cornelia even think that!"

"She doesn't have an excuse for the way she acted", Hay Lin said quietly, "No matter how upset she was, that was over the line"

Taranee nodded in a silent agreement. And that was when the cold hard truth hit Hay Lin in a weird way. It was just the four of them now. Will, Irma, Taranee, and Hay Lin. There was no Cornelia. Not anymore.

* * *

"Will!" Irma seemed to have a thing for pounding on doors that day. Only this time it was Will, who the hoped to have better luck with. Irma finally lost her patience and grabbed the door knob, and found the door was unlocked. "Perfect", Hay Lin heard Irma mutter. She walked into the apartment, Hay Lin and Taranee close behind. It came as a shock to find the place empty. No Will in sight.

"Will!" Irma called as they walked through the place. Hay Lin made her way to Will's room. And that was when she found it. The note that changed everything.

_Dear Mom,_

_I'm sorry, but I just can't be around anymore. I've done enough damage here. I've ruined my friend's lives in ways even I don't know about yet. I just can't stay in Heatherfield anymore_

_Love,_

_Will_

Hay Lin nearly dropped the note. Will…she hadn't…no, she wouldn't, she wouldn't!

"Guys!" Hay Lin ran out of Will's room, the note gripped tightly in her hands, "Guys, I found something! Something bad!"

"What?" Irma and Taranee looked at her as she handed Irma the note. Taranee read it over Irma's shoulder. The looks of shock on their faces grew as they read the note over. They looked at Hay Lin when hey were done reading. Neither of them knew what to say.

* * *

Now, before any of you say, _Well Witchlover did the same thing, having Will run away_, the circumstances in her story were completely different. Will ran away because she thought her mother was dead in Witchlover's story. And this is going to span over quite a few chapters, trust me. Now, as an added bonus, I'm gonna give a tiny, tiny preview of the next chapter:

It's going to Be Irma's POV, and she's gonna go back and have it out with Cornelia. Meanwhile, Hay Lin and Taranee are left with the task of informing Will's mom what happened. Won't that be fun? R & R! Well, R as in review, really, if you got this far, you already read it.


	22. Chapter 22

Okay, POV is going to be jumping from Irma to Taranee the whole chapter, so I'm not going to bother specifying one certain POV. Whoever you see the part being centered around is the POV, lets put it that way. Now, on with the chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 22**- Problems Not Quite Solved

Irma read the note over a few more times, not daring to believe what she was reading. Will had run away? _Will had run away_? But why? Why would she just leave them, how could she abandon them like this…

Cornelia. The thought hit fast. Cornelia. After what she'd said to Will, of course Will would take off! The shock started to wear off, and was replaced with anger. She thrust the note at Taranee, and stalked out of Will's apartment, completely ignoring Hay Lin, who yelled, "Irma, wait!"

* * *

She stalked down the street, in the direction of Cornelia. What she wanted more than anything was to give Cornelia a real piece of her mind. She'd caused too much trouble. It was time for someone to put her in her place. Irma knew that she was the only one who would do it. And she was just fine with that.

* * *

Taranee looked after Irma, and as soon as the girl had disappeared around the corner, looked back at Hay Lin, who shrugged as though to say, "Don't ask me"

"So what should we do?" Taranee said after a minute, "We can't let Mrs. Vandom see this note, it'll bring up too many questions. But she's going to want to know what happened to Will. So should just show her the note, or make up an excuse?"

"We could make an astral drop", Hay Lin pointed out.

"Yea, but something about that feels wrong", Taranee said carefully, "I mean, I realize we've made them plenty of times before, but it was an emergency then, we didn't have a choice. This though…well, I just think Will's mom deserves to the know the truth"

"The truth about what?"

Taranee jumped a mile and whirled around. Mrs. Vandom was standing in the doorway, a completely confused expression on her face.

* * *

"Okay, Cornelia, I'm going to talk, and you're going to listen", Cornelia jumped up from the couch and looked over at Irma, a mixture of shock and anger lit up on the blonde girls face.

"Ever heard of knocking?" she snapped, glaring at Irma angrily.

"Right now, I don't care", Irma said, "All I really care about is letting you know _just_ how much trouble you caused. And trust me when I say you caused you a lot"

"And just what is that suppose to mean?" Cornelia asked angrily.

"It means, you cause trouble!" Irma yelled, "How can you be so completely oblivious! Because of what _you_ said, Will ran away! Is that what you were aiming for? Well!"

"Who needs her anyway?"  
"Cornelia!" Irma exploded, "How can you say that! She's supposed to be your friend, remember! _She_ didn't ruin our lives Cornelia, none of us did! But you treat Will like it's all her fault! And now you've got her convinced that it is! How can you say things like that! I thought you were our friend! Evidently I was wrong!"  
"Come on Irma, think about it!" Cornelia yelled, "Our lives were better _before_ Will moved here, admit it! Haven't you ever wondered what life would be like if Will hadn't moved here!"

"Maybe I have, but that doesn't mean I think this whole thing is Will's fault!" Irma shot back.

"You just don't get it!" Cornelia cried, "My life was practically perfect before Will moved here, and now…and now it's horrible! All because of her!"

"So this is just some selfish sort of thing then!" Irma asked angrily, "It's all about you then! Cornelia this, Cornelia that, the rest of the world doesn't matter as long as _Cornelia_ is happy! Well I'm sorry to break this to you, but the world _doesn't_ revolve around you! I know you suffered some losses through this, but let me tell you, it isn't anyone's fault! And the sooner you realize that, the happier we'll all be!"  
She whirled around and stormed out of the apartment, nearly running into Lillian and Mrs. Hale, who were coming in. As she stormed down the hall she heard Mrs. Hale say, "Cornelia, is something wrong?"

She didn't hear Cornelia's answer. She wasn't sure she wanted to.

* * *

Taranee bit her lip. She looked hesitantly at Mrs. Vandom, who looked ready to cry. _Well duh_, she told herself, _We just told her that her only daughter ran away, she's probably blaming herself!_

"Mrs. Vandom?" Hay Lin said carefully, "I know this is a rotten way to find out, but…"

"Why?" was all her mom could say, "Why would she do this? Was it something I did? Or…"

Taranee and Hay Lin exchanged guilty looks. They'd neglected to show Mrs. Vandom the note. They didn't want to raise questions. So all they'd done was say they'd come over, saw the door was unlocked, and then said they were unable to find Will anywhere. Now they were thinking they would have been better off showing her the note.

"I'm really sorry Mrs. Vandom", Hay Lin said carefully, "I don't think it's your fault though. After…After what happened, Will was worried sick, she wasn't sure what to do or anything…well, I honestly don't think it's your fault she ran away"

Mrs. Vandom didn't answer; Hay Lin and Taranee exchanged another glance, feeling more and more like scum by the minute. Taranee had the note buried deep in her pocket.

* * *

"Irma! Irma, wait", Irma whirled around only to come face to face with Cornelia.

"What, do you want to fight some more?" Irma snapped, "Call me when I'm in the mood"

"No, wait, it isn't that-"

"Look Cornelia, I'm not in the mood, so if all you want to do is cause problems-"

"I'm sorry"

"I'm really not in the mood so…wait. What?"

Irma looked at Cornelia like she was nothing she'd ever seen before. Now she knew how Will had felt when _she_ had said sorry. For a second, all the two girls could do was look at each other, before Irma finally mustered the courage to find out if she was going crazy, "Did you really _sorry_?"

Cornelia shifted around uncomfortably, "Yea…"

"So wait", Irma said, "Sorry as in a 'Irma, you were right, I was wrong' sort of sorry?"  
"Don't push it", Cornelia snapped, her usual brisk manner returning, "Maybe I was wrong, that doesn't mean I'm going to admit it. But, well…It is our job after all, being the Guardians and all, and, well, we're going to need Will to do it, so…"

Irma smirked; Cornelia might as well have admitted she was wrong, and that was all she needed. "Well then", she said, "I guess that means your with us for the time being?"  
A small smile crept over Cornelia's face, "Of course"

* * *

Taranee and Hay Lin carefully stepped out of Will's apartment. They felt like her mom deserved to be alone, and they wanted to find Irma. They both had a theory on where she'd gone. Thy both hoped they were wrong.

"She wouldn't really try and go talk to Cornelia, would she?" Taranee tried to reason, "I mean, even she knows she would just say something to make things worse. She wouldn't really try to talk to Cornelia. Would she?"

"I don't know"

_Well that's reassuring_, Taranee thought as they walked, _Will disappeared, Irma could be trying to murder Cornelia now for all we know…this could not possibly get any worse_

"Is that Irma with Cornelia?" Hay Lin asked suddenly. Taranee looked around, positive Hay Lin was just seeing things. But no, there they were, Cornelia and Irma, walking down the street towards them, both with small-very small-smiles on their faces.

"I'm seeing things right?" Hay Lin asked as they approached, "Because there is no way Irma and Cornelia can be walking together without fighting, and yet here they are…"

"Very funny Hay Lin", Irma said with a smirk, "Evidently I'm not the hot tempered girl you thought I was, cuz something I said got through to Cornelia, so there!"

"Said?" Cornelia asked, "Try _yelled_"

"Hey, I needed some way to get through to you"

"I don't have a problem with my hearing you know"

"Don't fight!" Hay Lin and Taranee yelled at the same time. They had enough problems right then, without having to worry about a fight.

"Right", Cornelia said quickly, "Right, we still have to find Will, we shouldn't waste time…okay, any ideas on where she might be? Any place she might go, things like that?"

The girls tried to think for about five minutes, and in the end, came out with nothing. Well, almost nothing, "Fadden Hills!"

"What?" the girls looked around at Hay Lin, whose eyes were bright.

"Fadden Hills", Hay Lin repeated, "Wills hometown, maybe she went back there!"

"That's kind of far to walk though", Taranee pointed out.

"True"

But that was the only idea they came up with.

* * *

Will wandered through the woods, not completely sure of where she was going. All she knew was, she could never go back to Heatherfield. Never.

* * *

I came up with the last part at the last second, I had no original intentions of putting that in. Anyway, the next chapter will mostly just revolve around Will, with a little of the others there, trying to come up with ways to find her. Please Review, and let me know what you think! 


	23. Chapter 23

Back again! Well, I must say, this week without school has been great, I'm not looking forward to going back, after all, I've had so much time to type fics, but…well, gotta do what I gotta do, right? On with the chapter, and I do not own W.i.t.c.h.

* * *

**Chapter 23**- Lost

She wandered along, scared and confused. All she could hear was Cornelia. _Right now, I hate you_. And she had every right to, didn't she? The others would never admit the way Cornelia had, but she had ruined their lives. They had been fine without her. Maybe leaving could change that. She looked at her watch. Her mom would be home by now, she would have found the note. What would her reaction be? She wondered if her friends knew, or cared. She wondered if she even cared.

She didn't really sleep that night. She rested against a tree, but never really slept. All she could think about was what was happening in Heatherfield. Again, she found herself wondering if they even cared she was gone.

* * *

"Nothing?" Hay Lin asked Irma sadly.

"Nada", Irma replied, "We went over every square inch of this town, didn't find hide nor hair of her. I'm worried"

"My mom went over her house earlier", Hay Lin said, "Her mom is ballistic, feels like it's her fault Will left…"

"Well how can we say it isn't, without making it seem like we know what happened?" Irma asked, "'Sorry Mrs. Vandom, your daughter ran away because Cornelia made her feel like it was her fault we were chosen to be the guardians of some mystical Veil, and Will believed her'? Or how about, 'Will cracked under the pressures of being the leader of the worlds only hope for survival'? Maybe that would go over better?"

"I get it, I get it", Hay Lin said, "I just wish we knew where Will was…"

* * *

Will blinked blearily. She was exhausted, but she stood up anyway and kept walking. Even _she_ was sure of where she was going. She just hoped she got there soon.

* * *

"The leader", Elyon said unconcernedly, "So?"  
"Why is she off on her own?" Phobos asked.

"Does it matter?"  
"Yes", Phobos said, "This is the chance I've been waiting for. We could finally get the chance we've been waiting for. This could be the chance we need to get the Heart of Candracar. Cedric!" he snapped, "You know what to do"  
"Yes, my prince"

* * *

"Look at her!" Luba was in a rage, "Off on her own! Leaving the other guardians! How much of a fool could she be!"

"She will be fine", The Oracle said in an annoyingly calm voice, "She can do what she feels is right"  
"She is in danger", Yan Lin pointed out, "Luba is correct, she should not be off on her own…"

"I realize her decision was rash", The Oracle said in the same, calm voice, "But she must do what she thinks is right"  
Yan Lin and Luba exchanged a look. It wasn't often they agreed on something. It was just one of the many signs of the seriousness of the situation. They turned back to look at Will through the looking stone. She was trudging through a wooded area, alone, and vulnerable. Phobos would make his move as soon as he got the chance. And Will would not be ready when he did.

* * *

Hay Lin sighed and looked around her wearily. It was late, she really should have been home. But her parents had given her permission to take one more look around town to see if she could find Will. Even she knew it was a lost cause, looking, but that didn't stop her. All she wanted was to know her friend was safe.

_Ring-Ring_

Sh sighed and grabbed her cell phone, "Yea?"  
"Any luck?" Irma's voice came over the line.

"I wish", she said with a sigh, "I'd better get home, talk to you later Irma"

"Bye", she hung up feeling worse than ever. She walked back towards the Silver Dragon, her hands deep in her pockets. She walked along, looking at the sidewalk.

"Hey", she stooped down and grabbed a penny off the ground, "Find a penny pick it up, all day long you'll have good luck. If there's one thing I need right now, it's luck"

The penny slipped from her hands and landed on the ground with a weird sounding _tling_. And then her whole world changed.

She was no longer standing on the sidewalk. She was floating somewhere above it. It was daytime instead of night, and the streets were filled with people. And in the middle of the crowd, Hay Lin saw her. Short. Baggy clothes. Red hair. It looked like she was heading out of town, towards a patch of woods. She saw a penny slip out of the girl's pocket. The same penny she'd just found.

Hay Lin grinned as she slid back into the present. She bent down and grabbed the penny. Maybe she was going to get a little luck after all.

* * *

Two notes: 1) Sorry it took me so long to update, I've been busy. 2) Sorry the chapter was short, and sorry not much happened, I think I'm going to be wrapping this one up soon, I'm running out of ideas for it. I'm already planning out a sequel for it though, but I might just not do a sequel and keep it in this one fic. Not sure yet. Okay, review 


	24. Chapter 24

Okay, once again, I'm back, I'm not sure whether that's good or bad. I finally did decide to do a sequel for this story, so it should be wrapping itself up in the next two or three chapters. But it isn't done yet, so on with the story!

* * *

**Chapter 24**- Fights and Last Wishes

"Hay Lin, are you sure about this?" Irma asked as the girls made their way towards the woods.

"For the last time Irma, yes!" Hay Lin said impatiently, "Do you really doubt me?"  
"Well our powers have made a habit of going kaput lately", Irma pointed out, "For all you know, you were seeing things"  
"And I just _happened_ to see Will then?" Hay Lin questioned.

"Strong possibility"

"Maybe Hay Lin is right Irma", Cornelia said, "Just trust her why don't you?"  
"I've hit too many dead-ends in my life as a guardian to take trust in something that might or might be right", Irma shot back angrily.

"Well maybe-"

"Stop fighting!" Taranee said suddenly, "We have more important things to worry about, so just knock it off!"

Irma and Cornelia looked at their normally quiet friend in shock. Even Hay Lin looked around to give Taranee a look of surprise. The girls stopped walking and looked at each other for a second. After a minute or so, Hay Lin turned back to the front of the group and started walking again.

"Maybe we are just on a wild goose chase", Irma said with a shrug, "Will won't be found unless she wants to be, and I don't think she wants to be found"

* * *

"Four of them without the Heart alone, and one with the Heart, also alone", Elyon observed, "So which one do we attack?"  
"They are all at their weakness right now", Cedric pointed out, "Why not just attack them all?"  
"It would make more sense to wipe out all our enemies at once", Phobos agreed, "Cedric, take some troops to face the Keeper, Elyon, you can take the rest of the guardians"

"Won't Cornelia be pleased", Elyon smirked.

* * *

"I'm glad we made those Astral Drops", Taranee said, "Our parents would be worried sick otherwise"  
"Speaking of parents", Hay Lin said quietly, "I wonder how Will's mom is doing"  
Once again, the girls had voted against the idea of sending an Astral Drop home in her place, it just didn't feel right to give Will's mom her daughter back in that way, especially seeing as how it wasn't really her daughter. They just couldn't do that to her.

"I wish we had a better clue", Irma said, "This would be a lot better if we had a better clue"  
"Too true", even Cornelia had to agree, "We're just going to have to live with what we have though, I guess-"

"Remember me?"  
The girls gasped and whirled around.

* * *

Will leaned against a tree and pulled out a water bottle. She'd been walking for most of the night, and was basically exhausted. She could still see the city lights though. She wasn't far enough away. Not yet. She had to get further. She had to escape this place, the place where she'd caused so much trouble. Further. _Further_, she urged her tired body, _Further_.

"Hello Keeper"

She looked ahead and saw a truly terrifying sight. Cedric, with about fifty or sixty soldiers and castle guards behind him, was standing about three feet from her. She looked around. More soldiers were blocking her escape. She was trapped. She turned back to face Cedric, fear etched on every part of her face. In a shaky but still strong voice she managed to ask, "What do you want?"  
"What I always want of course", Cedric said silkily—or as silkily as he could in his snake form, "Hand over the Heart of Candracar"  
A voice in Will's head was saying, _If you give it to him, all your pain can end, and you can go home_. Another voice said, _Be strong Will! You can't surrender, not now not ever!_

"No!" She yelled at him, "You'll never get the Heart of Candracar!"

"Your mistake Will", Cedric hissed, "Look around you. You're surrounded. Your powers don't exist, thanks to you and your friends. You're doomed. You're exactly one mistake away from dying where you stand. Do you really want to take the chance?"  
"Yes!" Will yelled, stronger than ever, "I'll never give the Heart, it's mine, and that's final, it'll never fall into the hands of you or Phobos or anyone else! I'll die before I let you take it!"  
"So be it then", Cedric hissed. He moved in for the attack.

* * *

"Elyon!" Cornelia cried, looking back at her former best friend. It seemed like the same Elyon. But different to. Same straw blonde hair and blue eyes. Different air about her. Her smile was sinister, as was the vibes she was giving off. It seemed like there was something evil going on in her. And as Cornelia looked into the eyes of the person she once trusted most, she realized something: Will had been right all along. Elyon wasn't their friend. She never had been. What they had heard in the throne room wasn't an act. The last 13 years was. It killed her to say it, but Will was right. Cornelia had always known that in her heart. But it had only truly just registered.

"So", she said lightly, glaring at them, "Me and four of the five guardians. Where is dear old Will anyway? Did any of you ever stop to think that maybe, just _maybe_ all this is her fault anyway? How much as your life changed since she came here anyway? How many differences are there from what we used to be?"  
"The only difference is you Elyon!" Irma yelled, "You've changed!"

"Look whose talking", Elyon said, "If memory serves, you didn't change into a magical fairy on a daily basis _before_ Will moved here.

"It doesn't matter now of course", she went on, "Things change, as they did here. We were destined to be enemies. That's just the way it is now"

She attacked without warning. The girls scattered to avoid the hit. They were in trouble. Elyon fired again. This time Taranee wasn't so lucky. She took the blast and was knocked head over heels.

"Taranee!" the girls yelled at the same time. "I'll get her", Cornelia said, "Distract Elyon"  
Irma and Hay Lin nodded, and Cornelia ran towards her fallen friend. She stooped down next to her and helped her sit up woozily.

"We need Will", Cornelia said as she kneeled down next to Taranee, "Do you think you can connect with her telepathically?"  
"I can try", Taranee said, "Help Irma and Hay Lin, I'll get on it"

Cornelia nodded and ran to join the fray. She looked back as Taranee attempted to contact Will.

_Good Luck…_

* * *

Will dodged another blow, and was knocked backwards, slamming into a tree. She groaned and rubber her head. She was outnumbered big time. She looked up woozily, and saw that Cedric and his goons were closing in. _No_, she thought, _It can't end like this, it can't!_

_Will…_

_What?_ Will looked around, _Taranee, is that you? Taranee!_

_Will!_ She could almost feel the relief of her friend, _Thank goodness I found you, we need help!_

_I'm a little tied up at the moment_, she thought ,looking back at Cedric, _Taranee, I'm sorry, I'm sorry for everything, make sure to tell the other girls that to_

_Will-_

_I can't let Cedric get the Heart of Candracar_, Will thought, _I_ won't _let him get it. And if that means I have to go down fighting well then so be it. I'll never give up._

She closed her eyes, wishing she didn't have to say this, _Tell my mom I love her. Tell the girls I'm sorry. Tell Cornelia I'm sorry for messing up her life the way I did. Tell…tell Irma and Hay Lin I never met anything I said to them. And Taranee?_

_Yea Will?_

_Thanks for being my friend_, she broke the connection. Cedric was closing in on her. She wasn't going alive.

* * *

Taranee stood behind a tree, shaken by what she had just heard. _Will_, she thought frantically, _Will, wait! Please…_

She wanted to break down and cry. But the others needed her help. She jumped out from behind the tree, and saw that Elyon had disappeared. She looked over at Hay Lin, Irma, and Cornelia, who all looked equally confused.

"She just teleported away", Irma said with a shrug, "Did you find Will? Hey, what's wrong?"  
"Taranee?" Hay Lin questioned, seeing the fear rand sadness in her friend's eyes, "What happened? Is it Will?"  
"Will needs us", Taranee said shakily, "She needs us now. And I think I know where she is"

* * *

Hmn, last wishes for the dying. Poor Will, outlook not good says the magic 8 ball. Okay, review 


	25. Chapter 25

Hey, me be back once again with another _thrilling_ (note the sarcasm) chapter of Another War Begins. Also note that this most likely the last chapter (you'll know for sure at the end of the chapter whether or not it is or not. Now, enjoy the chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 25**- New Beginnings

Will gasped and moved as fast as she could, only to run into another soldier. She stumbled backwards, and moved around him, quickly stumbling away. Her vision blitzed temporarily and came back just in time to see Cedric's tail fly at her. She tried to move, but she wasn't quick enough.

"AAAAAAHHHH!" she screamed as she flew backwards. She landed on a pile of leaves with an "oof!" and stumbled up, breathing heavily. The two voices in her head were still fighting with each other. _Give it to him, end it now…_ _No, you can't give up, the Heart is for you and you alone_

She shook her head, trying to clear the voices out. She didn't have time to listen to two voices that didn't even exist. She stumbled up. _Taranee_, she thought desperately, breathing hard, _Taranee, please say you can hear me. Because having all of you here would be pretty nice right now_

* * *

_Taranee!_

Taranee stumbled to stop and looked around, _Will!_

"Taranee!" Irma yelled, looking around at her, "We _so_ do not have time to stop!"  
"It's Will!" she exclaimed. She turned her attention to her thoughts, _Will!_

But she couldn't hear anything. _Will_, she thought desperately, _Please, please, I'm begging you, be okay, don't be dead please…_

"Taranee?" Cornelia questioned, "What is it?"  
"Nothing", Taranee sighed, "Will needs us, lets go"

* * *

_Nothing!_ Will raged inwardly, _Could they really have abandoned me? No! They wouldn't! Would they?_

_"Right now, I hate you!"_

Will shook inside and out as she recalled what Cornelia had said. Did the others agree with her? Did they really think it was _her_ fault all of this had happened? Had they really…could they possibly have jus left her?

_They'd have every right_, she thought bitterly, _It_ is _my fault. It really is_

Before she had time for more bitter thoughts, Cedric was dealing another blow. She stumbled up just in time to have her feet knocked out from under her. This was looking worst by the second. She thought about the last time she'd talked with Taranee. No matter how much they hated her, she hoped Taranee would at least…at least tell her mother what she had said.

* * *

Another _bang_ issued from the woods. Irma stopped dead and looked around. "She could be anywhere!" the girl raged furiously, "How are we supposed to fond her, those bangs could just be echoes, we could be running in circles for all we know!"  
"It's no use", Taranee sighed, her shoulders sagging, "I just can't connect with her telepathically anymore. I don't know why, but I can't"

"Come on guys, we can't give up", Hay Lin said, "Will needs us, we can't abandon her!"

"But Hay Lin, we don't know where she even is", Irma pointed out, "Face it, we're clueless, we can't help Will. We can't even help ourselves"

"Oh suck it up Irma!" Cornelia snapped suddenly, "I didn't realize _you_ were a quitter. If you're going to give up, then I'm going out to find my self some new friends!"

Irma knew she didn't mean it. But just the fact she said it made her mad, "I'm no quitter!" Irma said, straightening up, "You think you're the big one around here? Lets hear you talk when we find Will, shall we?"  
Cornelia smirked as Irma turned away.

* * *

"Where are your little friends then?" Cedric hissed, "Too many harsh feelings for them to at least try and help their leader?"  
"This is all your fault!" Will cried, jumping up, "All of it! You and your little prince Phobos! If you'd never come into my life, none of this would have ever happened!"  
"Humans often blame on others what they can't make up for themselves", Cedric hissed mockingly, "You can't make up for your own mistakes. And now you'll never get the chance"

"Will threw up her hands, and a pink shield of energy formed around her. Cedric's tail bounced off the shield, leaving her pretty much unhurt. _Unhurt except for any other bruise_, she added silently. She stood up as the shield disappeared.

"Why do you continue to defy me?" Cedric asked angrily, moving towards her, "Why can't you just die like a good little girl?"  
"I was never one for following the crowd", Will scoffed mockingly, "How mad do you think your boss will be when he finds out you lost out to a pathetic little girl? I haven't even transformed, and you still have yet to get what you came for", she held up her hand; the Heart of Candracar came out, "You want it?" she asked, holding it up for him to see, "Too bad. You'll never get it. It's mine. Get over it"

"You insolent little brat!' Cedric hissed, "You will get the fate you deserve in time! For now, you will just have to suffer"

Will breathed deeply and stepped back, her hands up, ready to fight. _I can't win_, she thought, _Maybe I don't want to. But I can't let him win either. And I won't _

"You wont win!" she yelled, "Even if you do succeed in destroying me, others will rise up against you! You and your little prince and princess, you're nothing, you can't win, good will always triumph!"

"Such big talk for such a little girl", Cedric hissed.

"I'm not such a little girl anymore!" Will cried, "I hope you listened to what I said Cedric. You're finished! You, and anyone who opposes us, you won't win!"

Cedric laughed mockingly.

"Don't believe me?" Will asked, "Too bad. You'll learn in time. You'll see. _You'll see!_"

* * *

Cornelia pulled back and looked around, her eyes wide, _Will!_

"I heard it to Cornelia", Taranee said, answering her unasked question, "Will's here somewhere, close by"

Irma scanned around them, "Hay Lin, sound is carried by air, can you—"

"Yea", Hay Lin nodded, "Without being transformed I can't guarantee it'll work as well, but I'll give it my best shot, I promise"

She closed her eyes and focused on the air around her. Cornelia looked at Irma and Taranee, waiting with baited breath. If this didn't work, they were all finished.

_Will…_ she thought, _Please be okay. You have to be okay. We need you. Please…I'm sorry Will. I didn't mean what I said. Just be okay _

"Got it!" Hay Lin exclaimed, her eyes snapping open, "They're that way!"

She pointed deeper into the woods. Cornelia turned in the direction she was pointing. _Hang in there Will_, she thought, _Please_

* * *

Will slammed into a tree trunk and slid down the side of it, winded. This was it, and she knew it. She closed her eyes, and her friends drifted into her mind. She saw the four of them, hanging around and smiling. She wondered if that was what they'd be like when she was gone. She hoped so. She wanted them to be happy. She reoriented herself in time to see Cedric's tail flying at her. She crawled as fast as she could out of the way, and just barely managed to miss being hit hard. She stood up unsteadily, surprised her legs would still hold her.

"No friends, no help…" Cedric hissed, "Why so you bother to fight?"  
_Why do I bother?_ Will thought, _Why don't I just give up?_

Images of her friends and her mom flashed into her mind. _They_ were why she fought. Of course.

"I'll never give up", she gasped, "Even if I'm the last person on Earth, I will never give up"

"No one cares about you", Cedric hissed, "No one wants you. No friends, no family who cares, what would be the point of fighting on anymore? Why not just give up now, and I'll make your death quick"

Will shook uncontrollably. He couldn't be telling the truth. Could he? The same thoughts of doubt drifted into her mind. Had her friends _really_ abandoned her, just left her to die? _They'd have every right_, she thought bitterly. She smiled a sad, bitter smile. This was how it was going to end then. She'd abandoned her mom, who would always be looking for her. She'd ruined the lives of her four closest friends, who would probably never come for her. She'd turned everything upside down. She was getting what she deserved, wasn't she? After what she had done, wasn't she getting what she deserved? She looked up at Cedric, a cool, hard look in her eyes.

"Nothing to say?" Cedric hissed, "Well, then, this is your end then, Guardian of the Veil"  
He raised his tail. Will didn't even bother to try and move. She wasn't sure her legs would hold her. She knew this was her end. She wouldn't try to delay it any longer…

"Stop!" Cedric froze in mid-movement and looked around. Will followed his gaze, and her mouth almost hit the ground.

"Get away from her!" Irma yelled from the center of the group. She was surrounded by Hay Lin, Taranee, and Cornelia. Will wasn't sure what was more shocking, the fact Cornelia was there, or the fact they had come for her.

"So, the remaining Guardians join their leader", Cedric hissed, "Then you can all die at once"

"Get Will", Will heard Irma say quietly to Taranee, "We'll distract the walking purse and boots"

Taranee nodded, and the girls split up. Taranee made quickly for Will, who tried to stand up and walk away, only to fall back down again out of pure exhaustion.

"Hey", Taranee stooped down next to Will, "Are you okay?"  
"I've been better", she muttered. She finally managed to look Taranee in the eye, "You came for me"

"Of course", Taranee said, sounding surprised, "We couldn't just abandon you, you're our friend"

"I am?" Will couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Will, yes", Taranee said, "Friends forever, remember? We'd never leave you"

Will looked at Taranee in disbelief. The moment was ruined by of course, by Irma yelling, "Would you two get here and help us?.!"

Will and Taranee's heads snapped around and looked over. The girls were in trouble.

"Ready?" Will held up her hand; the Heart of Candracar appeared.

"Always"

Will closed her eyes and concentrated. Bright pink light filled the area, enveloping the five girls in it's warmth. Will relaxed for the first time in a long time, and let the changes happen. She felt pink magic wrap itself around her, and felt her wings burst out of her back. The light died away, and left five girls in it's wake. They weren't just ordinary girls though. _They_ were the Guardians of the Veil. Will smiled wearily. She had a feeling everything would be okay.

"Now _this_ is what I'm talking about!" Irma yelled. She aimed at a group of soldiers. A stream of water shot out of her hand and knocked them backwards, "Yea!" she yelled, "Lets show them what we're really made of!"

The girls nodded in agreement, and took off in different directions. They each took out a group of soldiers at a time, sending them back through the portal to Meridian.

"Take that and that and that", Irma smirked as she slammed the rest of the guards with water and sent them back to Meridian. "So", she said cockily, "That just leaves us and the overgrown snail then"

The girls turned back to Cedric, who was glowering at them. "Why don't you just make it easy on yourself and give up?" Cornelia asked.

"You think so highly of yourselves Guardians", Cedric said menacingly, "Lets see how well you think of yourselves when you're trapped in a dungeon for all eternity!"

The girls just barely managed to jump out of the way as Cedric's tail came down at them. He took shot again, and this time they weren't all as lucky.

"AAAHHH!" Hay Lin screamed as she went flying backwards.

"Hay Lin!" Irma screamed, running after her. Cornelia. Will, and Taranee looked back at Cedric. Will felt a tingling in her hand. She held up her fist and unclenched it. The Heart of Candracar was glowing brightly. She squinted at it, waiting for it to tell her what to do. But she already knew what she had to do. She closed her eyes and let the Heart take over for her. She held it out in front of her, it was glowing brightly, like a pink sun. Cedric hissed and yelled in horror.

"Go back to Meridian where you belong", she said weakly yet firmly at the same time. She closed her eyes and put all her energy into the Heart. It glowed brighter, driving Cedric backwards, towards the portal. _And don't come back_, she thought as the light drove him through the portal.

Her legs turned to jelly as the light died away. She was completely wiped. She could see the darkness coming at her. She let it swallow her up. The last thing she heard before she fell, unconscious, was two voice yelling.

"Will!"

* * *

Taranee and Cornelia scrambled towards their fallen friend. They knelt down next to her and tried to wake her up.

"Will…" Cornelia said quietly, "Please Will, please wake up…"  
"What's going on?" Irma asked from behind them. She was supporting a weak looking Hay Lin, "We saw all this pink light", Irma explained, "And we figured it was coming from here—Will!"

Both girls gasped at the site of their fallen friend, "Is she…?" Hay Lin couldn't finish the sentence.

"I think she's alive", Taranee said, "She's breathing at least. I just hope she's okay"

* * *

It was later, much later that Will started hearing voices around her.

"It's been over an hour—"

"Are you sure she's okay--?"

"Hey guys, I think she's waking up—Will?"  
Will slowly opened her eyes. Her four friends were looking down at her, still in their guardian forms, looks of grave concern on their faces.

"Will", Hay Lin managed to say hoarsely, "You're okay"

"Yea…" Will muttered. She sat up and rubbed her head, "I…thanks, you guys. For helping me. And…and I'm sorry"  
"For what?"  
"For…for everything", she said, "This is all my fault, all of it, I'm sorry—"

"It isn't your fault", Cornelia said, surprising them, "And…and I'm sorry to Will. For what I said…before. I guess I knew you were right. I just didn't want to admit it"  
Will smiled despite herself.

"We'd better get home"

* * *

"Mom?"

Will wandered in to her apartment, unsure of if her mom would even be awake at this time. It was well past midnight. She was surprised to see her mother sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee. Susan looked around at her daughter's voice, "Will?"  
The two locked eyes, and for a second just stared. And before either of them what they were doing, they had fallen into each others arms, crying.

* * *

Well, as you can see, this ends the story, my next story, Two Wars, will be the sequel to this one, so look out for it. Here's the summary for it: _Trust is tested, friendships waver, and two wars are going on, one on the battle field, and one within themselves… _

Review as always!


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